Does Travel Policy Work? (Answer: Yes)

One occasional request we get when we demo AmTrav’s a2b booking platform to prospective customers is: “I wish AmTrav would only show Economy fares.”

You see, AmTrav was the first corporate booking tool to show all fare types – Economy, Premium Economy, First, and more – side-by-side in one display in 2017. We further improved this display when we launched our fourth generation of the a2b platform in early 2021, and today this display includes NDC fares like American Airlines’ Main Plus and Main Extra with extra legroom seating.

Back to that “I wish you would only show Economy fares” request, which makes sense because travel managers need to enforce an Economy-only policy. But when we get this request we explain that travel managers can set their Economy-only travel policy in AmTrav, that policy will be clearly shown, travelers will be told three times and required to give an explanation for breaking policy, and travel managers can require approval for out-of-policy bookings.

But does that work, does policy guidance actually deter travelers from booking the higher fare types and cabins that they’re shown?

Yes, and we have examples to prove it.

Customer 1 is in the real estate business, all employee transient travel, only permits Economy class travel. Their air compliance rate on booking the permitted category (Economy class fares): 100%.

Customer 2 is in the education business, lots of employee transient and some employee meeting travel, again only permits Economy class travel in their policy. Their air compliance rate on Economy class fares: 99%.

Customer 3 in healthcare, mostly employee transient travel, only permits Economy travel. Air compliance rate: 99%

Customer 4 in medical retail, books mostly meetings travel for employees and unprofiled guests using AmTrav Gather. Air compliance rate: 99%.

Customer 5 in computer software & hardware, lots of employee transient travel, only permits Economy. Air compliance rate: 98%.

We could go on, but you get the picture: travel policy clearly deters travelers from picking higher fares, even though those fares are shown.

So why, if AmTrav travelers aren’t picking those fare and cabin options, does AmTrav show them?

Because AmTrav is committed to delivering the consumer experience that customers want, with all the information and itineraries that they need to book online. Information about fares, amenities like WiFi, attributes like seat dimensions and live seat maps, and the ability to book one way, roundtrip, multi-city, split carrier, unused tickets applied online.

Which means that the customers featured above enjoy both high compliance and very high online adoption rates: Customers 1-4 between 96% and 98%, Customer 5 at 90%.

High online adoption means happy travelers and big fee savings for companies: AmTrav earns a 94% high satisfaction rate from travelers, and companies save 37% on fees compared to an industry-average 70% online adoption. 

(Bonus: AmTrav Change Trips delivers the online itinerary change experience travelers want – with your policy applied so you maintain control over changes!)

So next time you see AmTrav’s a2b booking tool or you’re asked “does travel policy work?” remember AmTrav travelers, happily booking itineraries that work for them and the company in AmTrav – because travel policy works.