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Business travel is back… well, almost. According to Skift Research, business travel will reach 95 percent of its pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024. This resurgence marks a significant recovery for corporate travel, which had lagged behind leisure travel.
In this resurgent landscape, travel managers have become more critical than ever in streamlining the air reservation process, ensuring it aligns with company policies while seeking solutions that simplify management tasks and maintain compliance.
Southwest Airlines has continued to expand its services within the business travel sector to help travel managers achieve their goals, offering enhanced capabilities to book, modify and manage flights through multiple distribution channels, including global distribution systems ( GDS), direct connection application programming interfaces. (API) and its own booking platform, SWABIZ.
“Anticipating business travel growth this year allowed us to move forward with many key enhancements to enable travel managers to better manage their Southwest travel programs,” said Ryan Green, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Southwest Business. “Our goal is to make business travel simple and easy for everyone involved, and for travel managers, that starts with offering flexible self-service options, customizable programs and robust tools to simplify program management.”
A flexible and easy-to-use self-service portal
Betting on flexibility led Southwest Business to create a self-service portal in 2022. Southwest Business Assistance, which allows travel managers to manage trips more autonomously, reducing friction and improving the customer experience. The unified portal is a “one-stop shop” for travel managers to monitor travel arrangements, manage requests, track funds and credits, and stay up to date with promotional content.
“With the rise of hybrid work environments and packaged travel scenarios, our priority for Southwest Business Assist is to eliminate friction and provide as much flexibility as possible to travel managers,” Green said. “Since the launch of the portal, we have continually added new features, including improved reporting, more detailed dashboards, sustainability tracking, and the ability to hire and book travel for meetings and events.”
As unique corporate travel opportunities arise, Southwest Business Assist provides practical information and easy-to-use tools that help travel managers manage complex travel situations and programs, extensive reporting requirements, and duty of care responsibilities.
“Southwest Business Assist is a valuable tool in my travel management toolkit,” said Sabrina Kronk, a university travel director who works with Southwest Business. “It gives me a near real-time overview of everything happening in my travel schedule. Every day there is one or more plot twists, so it is essential to have partners who support me when something unexpected happens.
Simple contracts and multichannel distribution
According to Green, another key differentiator for Southwest Business is its emphasis on simple, straightforward and easy-to-understand contractual terms, reflecting a move away from complex agreements and restrictive policies.
“We put customers first in every aspect of the travel experience, and this extends to everything that goes into a corporate travel program, including contract simplicity and offering diverse channel options,” said Green. . “Our goal is to continue to differentiate ourselves by removing friction in this space while offering flexible and unique offerings to the market to meet those needs and make doing business easier.”
Kronk appreciates the flexible terms outlined in his contract with Southwest Business, which allows refunds on non-refundable tickets if necessary and allows him to change the name on a ticket to allow a different person within his organization to travel if the original attendee cannot.
«These may seem like simple tasks, but having the ability to take advantage of these options within our contracts is incredibly valuable,» Kronk said. “We also appreciate that Southwest offers multiple booking channels; “Having all those flights on the GDS is incredibly important to us because it keeps everyone compliant.”
Dedicated support for travel managers
At a time when some airlines are reducing or even eliminating their sales teams, Southwest Business remains committed to offering dedicated account manager support to travel managers.
“Our team of trusted advisors contributes significantly to creating a more efficient and supportive environment for corporate travel managers,” said Green. “Team members are available to help travel managers address any issues or concerns that may arise before, during or after the trip.”
In addition to the human hospitality found within those support teams, the digital tools offered by Southwest Business Assist provide comprehensive insights and analytics in near real-time, so travel managers can make the necessary data-driven decisions and manage their travel programs more effectively.
“By simplifying those administrative tasks and offering robust reporting options, these tools ease the burden on travel managers and allow them to focus on their most important caregiving responsibilities,” Green said.
What’s next for South West businesses?
As more business travelers return to travel this year, Southwest Business continues to develop additional tools, capabilities and enhancements designed to meet the evolving needs of those who manage their company’s travel.
“Before taking any initiative or seeking new capabilities, we seek feedback from customers to better understand their needs,” Green said. “For example, we are working on a revamped tool to make group booking easier and more manageable. Across the company, we’re working hard to add power to larger seats and overhead bins, and improve our digital hospitality for customers with new features in our app, including bag tracking and ready-to-fly standby on previous flights. . “These combined investments support our goal to be trusted travel partners for businesses across the country as we work to design flexible solutions to fit their needs.”
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This content was created in collaboration by Southwestern Business and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.
