4 / 20
04
|
INDUSTRY
NEWS
www.chamberstravel.com...that
24% of companies
have policies against ride sharing use, and
5%
make them preferred, according to a recent GBTA survey.
DID
YOU
KNOW?
Chambers
has done it again: made a quantum
leap ahead of the curve with a customer-
pleasing technology solution for bookers,
travellers, travel managers and procurement
folk alike that is fully customisable.
“It’s a big game changer,” sums up
Chambers’ IT Director Andy Slough. The
product is called Smart and has been
tried, tested and perfected on the other
side of the world over the last two years
with some 150 clients of Chambers’ parent
company Corporate Travel Management
(CTM) in Australia*.
Now it’s even better as over the last
nine months Chambers has leveraged
the expertise of its 18-strong Chambers
London IT team to integrate all of
Chamber’s services into the Smart eco
system. Smart is now a ground-breaking
toolkit for the corporate community.
“Chambers CTM is the only TMC in the
market with a single technology platform
and a single GDS,” claims Slough. Smart is
not reliant on any third party services. “Other
TMCs are bogged down with legacy platforms
which don’t have the speed or flexibility or
personalisation capability,” he says.
Smart requires no IT involvement; no
installation angst or extra cost. First-
time users just click a link from their PC,
Smartphone or Tablet which takes them to
a website and from there all they have to
do is add the Smart icon to their desktop.
A single sign-on will reveal a
personalised screen built around the user
that can access all services at the touch
of a button, no matter what device is
being used.
Andy Slough
- IT Director, Chambers
SO
SMART
Chambers’ record for developing relevant
technology for customers is about to be
augmented this month with the rolling out of
a
powerful new tool
The Smart platform offers nine
different services:
• pre-trip approval
• traveller tracking
• pre-trip risk assessments
• bespoke messaging service
• travel management analytics
• traveller profiles managed centrally and
securely
• a forecast of available fares and hotel
rates up to 21 days before departure
• easy and quick booking capability
• online reference library for policy and
documents
‘The whole purpose of Smart is to have
all the services in one place,” says Slough.
“It’s built around speed, it’s intuitive to
use and with bang up-to-date technology.
There is no legacy platforms involved. It’s
super, super easy and there’s nothing to
learn. It’s a true piece of technology built
around the user.”
Smart can be customised to different
user needs – be it a booker, manager or
financial director. “It feels like a bespoke
service,” says Slough. “Not everyone has to
consume the same information so we can
add or remove ‘widgets’. Smart is a living
and breathing technology.”
In the same vein, Smart can be deployed
globally, regionally or nationally, tailored to
the geographical need.
Smart Forecaster is a particularly useful
service as the traveller is able to see a
fares forecast on the three most frequent
destinations visited to view the best time
to travel there by price. “If they want to go
“It’s not about
the tech anymore
but the user,
providing services
at the touch of
a button and
making them as
productive as
possible”