Travelers participating in BTN's
Traveler Happiness survey largely dismissed the need for local
recommendations from their corporate travel colleagues. Yet they complained
about spotty Wi-Fi, trip disruptions and other on-trip friction that kept them
from getting things done. Sometimes, though, travelers can't anticipate their
needs because they don't know what's possible. And so, Microsoft director of global
travel Eric Bailey sees a different opportunity for travel programs to improve
the travel experience than did the travelers responding to BTN's survey.
Microsoft's travel community platform, which allows
corporate travelers to share their travel experiences, started as an internal
tool created by interns and morphed into a more robust platform when he teamed
up with Tripism's Adam Kerr two years in.
The concept: A virtual gathering place for Microsoft
travelers to meet and exchange corporate travel knowledge, local office
information, hotel and dining recommendations, ground transportation tips and
other need-to-know info that coworkers normally would share when passing in the
office hallway. "That's the old analog model, and it wasn't very
efficient," said Microsoft travel technology manager Steve Clagg, who
inherited the project and dug deep to bring it to fruition companywide. "There
was a clear need from our travelers to better understand where they were going
and what would be there waiting for them."
A TripAdvisor for Business Travelers
Essentially, Microsoft wanted a business version of
TripAdvisor but tailored for Microsoft travelers. "The problem with
existing tools today is that it's too much [information]—too broad, unfocused
and mostly about [leisure] experiences that don't incorporate business
operations or user tasks," Clagg said.
The early My Travel Companion tool the interns built was "really
cool," according to Clagg, but after a few years, it needed to be
overhauled and stored in the cloud. By 2015, the interns had left and no one at
Microsoft had the resources to take over. That's when Kerr did a
cold-introduction to Bailey on LinkedIn. It worked. The companies collaborated,
enhancing the Tripism platform with Microsoft's ideas. They piloted the tool in
2016 with 100 travelers before rolling it out companywide this spring.
Mapping the Traveler Experience
Tripism maps out Microsoft office locations, preferred hotel
suppliers and Dinova network restaurants. It allows Microsoft travelers to review
restaurants and hotels and pin points of interest on a trip board a la
Pinterest so travelers can access them easily. Travelers control whether their
own boards and reviews remain private or are visible to all Microsoft
employees.
A traveler visiting a Microsoft office in another city can
use Tripism to research preferred hotels near that location and read colleagues'
reviews for those hotels before booking. Microsoft is working on functionality
to allow hotel partners, whether an individual property or a chain, to enrich
the data with Microsoft-specific benefits that can't be published on the global
distribution system, such as hotel restaurant discounts or concierge service.
The community layer "enhance[s] the value of that negotiated relationship,"
Clagg said.
Likewise, travelers can search nearby restaurants within the
Dinova network and read Microsoft travelers' reviews. "Being part of
Dinova brings benefits to travelers and savings [to Microsoft that we] get from
rebates on dining spend," he added. Microsoft also can add helpful
information about office locations: phone numbers, parking instructions and
front desk procedures. The company is automating that functionality so that
facilities department changes update in Tripism, as well.
Improving Card Acceptance Perception
Microsoft also feeds American Express corporate card data to
Tripism. Previous corporate card spend by colleagues indicates to the platform
which merchants accept Amex. That's particularly useful outside the U.S., Clagg
explained. "There are lots of perception issues that [Amex] is not
accepted anywhere. It is, but at [a smaller percentage of] merchants when
compared to the U.S."
If a traveler in France goes door-to-door to see if a
merchant accepts Amex, it can feel like most don't.Tripism's mobile app changes
that perception, Clagg said. "Immediately, the tool will display five to
six good restaurants within walking distance that other Microsoft employees
frequent in Paris and accept Amex."
Travelers seem to like the tool. The pilot group increased
to 500 users before official launch in the spring, and as of September,
Microsoft had 10,000 active users.
Tripism not only helps the traveler find what he
or she needs but also helps the travel department "keep the program
together and increase satisfaction to our users," Clagg said.