It's always nice to get a second opinion, so Overheardbin asked Travel Technology's Norm Rose to share his insights and expertise about some current travel trends.  Norm knows travel, as you can see below:

Norm Rose: Why Social Networking Matters to Corporate Travel Managers

Stories about social networking applications, particularly Facebook, can be found throughout travel, business and technology publications.  From a corporate travel perspective, many buyers simply dismiss the buzz about social networking as not being relevant to their jobs.  Unfortunately this view is not only naive, but dangerous given the growth of social networks.  If you divorce yourself for a moment from the emotional hype about social networking and instead think like a consumer, you may begin to realize the impact these networks have on the travel decision making process.

Forget the Internet for a moment and think about the last vacation you took with your family.  How was it impacted by the opinions of your friends and family?  If a friend or family member expressed a positive or negative opinion about a hotel or tour, wouldn’t that have influence on your decision process?   Then ask yourself, have you ever visited a travel review site like TripAdvisor or IgoUgo prior to finalizing your vacation plans?  Do your corporate travelers visit these sites?

Then take a look at your kids (provided you have some). When I asked my sixteen year old son about his use of email, he simply replied that he generally doesn’t use email anymore as he communicates with his friends via Facebook.  The general IT press is now questioning whether future search will begin at Google or be imbedded in Facebook.  Simply put, social networking is not a fad, or a secondary phenomenon, but truly a disruptive force changing the way people interact with the Web. 

Now let’s go back to the corporate travel industry.  In my recent study: Corporate Travel Technologies: Today and Tomorrow (I'm allowed one a shameless plug per blog.) I discuss how the so-called “Web 2.0” trends are and will be impacting all aspects of corporate travel technology.  The most essential thing for corporate travel managers and buyers to keep in mind relative to social networking is understanding that different communities exist within your corporation today. They may include:

• Travelers – Travelers have strong opinions about corporate travel services and tools.  If you don’t believe this send an email to your top 10 travelers (if you are not afraid to do so!) asking for feedback on hotels, preferred airlines and travel service performance. The question you need to ask is how are these top travelers influencing the behavior of other frequent travelers?
• Travel Arrangers – With the advent of self-booking tools (SBT) many pundits assume this is all being done by the traveler.  Corporate travel managers and buyers know that at any given company a large percentage of bookings using the SBT are administrators.  They are an important community within the company.
• Line Managers – In reality it is the traveler’s immediate boss who controls traveler behavior.  What are the line managers’ needs across divisions?
• Finance Managers – Finance managers are more likely comfortable with an Excel spreadsheet rather than a peer from another division, but these managers do have some common focus and can be crucial in implementing traveler behavioral change.
• Senior Management – in most cases senior management at a company are some of the most frequent travelers.  Their opinion may be voiced in blogs which have become a standard tool for many executives.  Senior management opinions about travel service vendors can dramatically influence the success of your travel management program.

These communities can and will continue to influence traveler behavior.  If you are still not convinced that understanding social networks within your company is important consider the results of a recent study by the Student Travel Conference in Istanbul: “The proportion of young travelers who book online has surged from 10% to 50% in five years and 80% use the internet to search for information before departing on their trip.”  And this is quote is from a European organization where overall online travel adoption is lower.  When this generation hits the workforce, the role of social networking plays on their business travel planning will have a major impact.

Norm Rose

Travel Tech Consulting, Inc.
Demystifying Emerging Technologies for the Travel Industry
http://www.traveltechnology.com
http://traveltechnology.blogspot.com