Discovery Inc. global travel services VP Yukari Tortorich is in a good spot. Her company awards her for taking risks with her travel program. "Not everything is successful," she said. "But my innovation performance is measured on how well I try new things, not on whether we keep everything. It would be hard to take risks in a different kind of environment."
Given that freedom, Tortorich has gained a reputation as an industry influencer, particularly for new entrants and "alternative products" offered by established players that push the status quo. She embraced Airbnb early in its push toward managed travel. She has realized value from Concur TripLink and is implementing Casto Travel's mobile travel assistant, Marco, even as she scours the field for more opportunities.
Her pilot programs with new entrants have primed technology products for the managed travel market. "It's exciting to work with innovative new players. They are eager to listen and incorporate feedback," Tortorich said, citing advice she has given startups about key data elements, how they provide reporting and even how they structure some of their product functionality. She pointed to Freebird, an app that instantly rebooks disrupted flights, as a prime example. "They never said 'no' to me," she said. "When one of my frequent travelers had a smart idea about making a substantive [functionality] change to account for the last flight of the day, they loved it. That actually changed Freebird's tool."
Not every technology Tortorich pilots makes it to implementation; the scrap rate is just part of the deal. Impediments are several, such as information security issues, functionality that's off target or a simple lack of value. "I'm always looking at what's in it for my travelers and for my company," she said.
Even so, the suppliers she interacts with take her feedback forward to their next engagements, having learned from the process. "I hope that what I do for my program in vetting vendors and defining what's important for managed travel will benefit other travel programs as more companies adopt these technologies."