Local insights to traveller experience: Decoding personalised service in business travel
Traditionally, personalisation in business travel was seen as a perk reserved for VIP travellers. Today, it is no longer a luxury. Personalised business travel is now a must-have, a strategic lever for the success of business trips, and much more. Let’s decode
Tailored recommendations, bespoke service: Personalisation in corporate travel
Personalisation in business travel is about creating a frictionless journey that respects travellers’ comfort and the company’s objectives.
Business trips often bring stress. Tight schedules, last-minute itinerary changes, flight delays, or hotels far from the meeting venue. Add the pressure of a client meeting.
In this mix, travellers want to feel supported and valued. They don’t expect a one-size-fits-all approach. Business travellers expect tailored experiences and journeys designed around their individual preferences, from specific airlines, hotels, meal choices to flexibility of bleisure. There's more to personalised experiences that can make a significant difference for a seamless experience:
- Well-planned itineraries optimised for meeting locations and time zones
- Real-time travel alerts with 24/7support
- Recommendations during the booking process
- Integrated expense reporting for faster reimbursements
Benefits of offering personalised solutions
For businesses, personalisation drives strategic value. A GBTA survey found that a large majority of business travellers in the Asia Pacific region acknowledged business travel experience impacts their overall job satisfaction. When travellers feel supported, they are far more likely to book within the system. That means:
- Fewer out-of-policy bookings
- More consolidated data for reporting
- Stronger supplier partnerships
- Bookings that align with budgets
Personalisation in Asia’s unique landscape market
Asia is not one market. It’s many markets. What works in Japan may not be suitable for Singapore. From flights to dining, every region is different. That’s why cookie-cutter service models fail in Asia’s diverse business travel landscape. Personalisation here must be flexible, localised, and adaptable.
“Asia is a diverse market. Business travel and the traveller experience often will be totally different from country to country even within the region. Our aim is always to deliver tailored solutions in every market with personalised journeys, alongside consistency across markets where it makes sense. From supporting travellers 24/7 to helping organisations further their travel programmes, companies turn to us in Asia for local support,”
Ryan Bradnock, Director, Customer Operations, FCM Travel Asia.
Emerging technologies that can help with personalisation
While people remain the backbone of service, tech amplifies personalisation in business travel. With tech-backed booking platforms, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and traveller profiling, companies can analyse past preferences and get a deep understanding of behaviour to manage risks and offer travel preferences for upcoming trips. Here’s how tech can work in action:
- A virtual business travel assistant like Sam answering your queries instantly
- Regional data analysis for decision-making across markets
- Real-time alerts to inform about travel disruption
- Nudges at the time of booking to keep you under policy
- 24/7 support and chat function for risk management
The real win comes when tech and human expertise work hand-in-hand.
Why the right TMC matters for personalised travel experience
Delivering personalised service at scale isn’t easy to manage in-house, especially across Asia’s diverse markets. That’s why businesses turn to a travel management company (TMC).
The right partner brings together global reach with local expertise, backed by technology, a travel management software, that adapts to your business. When choosing a TMC, look for one that offers:
- Agents based in the same markets as your travellers
- A platform that delivers localised content and booking options
- A balance of tech-driven insights and real human support
FCM understands the need and gets the right balance. With FCM Platform and on-ground support, FCM emphasises multi-level relationships, service level agreements, issue resolution processes, customer feedback processes and customer satisfaction scores. The reporting and analytics tool helps companies understand travel experience, foresee the latest trends, and help travel managers share relevant options and offers.