ETW Staff– Mumbai
The GBTA Foundation, the research and education arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), has created a tool to help travel managers determine whether they are using the most effective travel technology tools for their organisation. Sponsored by Orbitz For Business, this first-of-its-kind Travel Technology Maturity Index enables organisations to evaluate their use of travel-related technology against a set of best-practice standards. The tool provides feedback on opportunities to improve their travel management programme by making better use of technology in the context of a given organisation’s needs and goals.
Joseph Bates, vice president- research, GBTA Foundation, said, “We are excited to see how this new tool can help our members save time and money by ensuring they are making the best use of the latest technology. We are thankful for the GBTA technology committee and the travel technology task force for their efforts in developing this tool. By using the Travel Technology Maturity Index, GBTA members can ensure they are adopting the right tools and services for their specific company’s needs.”
The Travel Technology Maturity Index will assess technology use in all of the following categories:
data – deriving value from information gathered; meetings – managing meeting-related activities and expenses; traveller experience – improving the traveller’s experience; reservation processing / approval; approving and fulfilling a travellers’ arrangements; expense management – paying for/reimbursing travel-related expenses; shopping / booking – finding travel options and managing purchased travel arrangements.
Anne Marie Razza, vice president- product strategy and development, Orbitz for Business, said, “At Orbitz for Business, our mission is to create world-class, consumerised technology solutions to power the next generation of business travel. We are proud to partner with the GBTA Foundation to provide this innovative tool to companies of all sizes to help them find new ways to use technology to optimise their travel programmes.”
