the last mile
I
Finding the balance of tech and touch
n 2015, several new, tech-enabled travel
from our own in private hire. Consider that in 2012 Uber management companies (TMCs) launched into entered the UK market, with the promise of advanced the business travel market. technology, but with little in the way of customer service TMCs operate as an outsourced travel team to support the operations. for businesses – think of them as travel agencies for When packaged under a ‘For Business’ banner, Uber’s companies. They provide various booking options for European head, Jamie Haywood, commented in an travellers to access air, rail and hotel suppliers including interview in this very magazine that business clients by phone, email and via online booking tools. require “more customised cases that Uber is not very Daniel Price The new breed of travel companies, including Silicon good at delivering”. CEO and Valley’s Trip Actions and Barcelona’s Travel Perk, were Uber’s response to the challenges a low-touch solution founder well-funded and promised highly technical solutions for brings was the 2020 acquisition of Autocab, providing of Jyrney business travellers. New booking channels, such as easyout-of-the-box access to its unique iGo network. A readyto-use mobile apps, and pre-pay cashless solutions were made network of operators to support the conversion of integrated into travellers’ trip planning along with customer service Uber’s low-touch offering to a higher-touch model. offered through online or mobile chat. Sound familiar? Uber’s introduction to the London market a decade ago sparked an Businesses that appoint travel management companies traditionally advance in technology from the dispatch systems, which moved to offer expect a high touch service for their travellers. Do your customers app-based cloud systems, and aggregators that could offer operators have questions about a trip? Call your agent. If travellers want to know access to new clients on a national or international level. the best hotel to stay near the conference, drop your travel consultant This new ‘high tech’ aggregated solution, combined with an an email. What do you do if something goes wrong? Get in touch with operator’s high-touch customer service, gives private hire a distinct customer services. edge in the business market when compared to ride hailing companies’ The promise of tech-driven TMCs was technology meant you didn’t “plain vanilla” offering. need the high-touch support. Again, sound familiar? Both business travel and private hire markets have been on a similar Business travel, like private hire, is a purposeful business. It needs journey, where they start with a low-tech, high-touch solution, before support for both operations and the traveller. As we know from private market disruptors enter and flip the model to high-tech, low-touch. hire, difficulties don’t always lie in the logistics of dispatching vehicles This challenge encouraged the incumbents to improve their or arranging schedules, but from the unpredictability of real-life technology as the disruptors now look for ways to improve service. human behaviour. The driver waiting at the wrong pick-up location; While the rival business camps, incumbents and disruptors, may the customer coming out late for the arranged pick-up; or the failed have approached their model evolution from opposite sides, both collection of the CEO last thing on a Friday. industries seem poised to deliver a high-tech, high-touch model to their It came as little surprise when Trip Actions acquired a TMC, customers. The question really is; do our passengers and travellers Reed and Mackay, that was renowned for its high-touch customer deserve any less? experience. Trip Actions could now offer a higher grade of service to complement their disruptive technology. n D aniel Price is CEO and founder of Jyrney. Daniel.price@jyrney.com — www.jyrney.com The parallels in business travel disruption are not too dissimilar
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