Month: April 2016

Categories
Travel News

New Rail Line Opens Between Downtown Denver and Denver International Airport

This past week, business travel became less of a headache for Denver residents and its visitors. Denver’s Regional Transportation District opened their much awaited rail line, The University of Colorado A Line. The rail runs between downtown’s Union Station and Denver International Airport (DIA), with six stations in between. Denver is now joining only 20 other U.S. cities to offer train transportation from the airport to the city center.

This is the first commuter rail for the Denver metro area. Differing from the city’s existing light rail trains, these trains are heavier and faster. Part of the FasTracks initiative, this is the first of the promised 122 miles of new rail to hit the metro area. With connections to three other light rail lines, two additional lines will be adjoining later this year. The train runs regularly from 3:00 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. the following day, making it almost 24-hour assessable. Passengers are dropped off at the airport near the south entrance security lines, avoiding additional shuttles and long tarmac runs like other airport shuttle systems.

A major criticism of DIA has always been its location. Located 25 miles outside of the city center, travel to and from the airport is an additional burden for the traveler. With RTD’s new and affordable commuter train, hope is in the air for convenient commuter travel. The cost of a ticket is $9, valid for 24 hours from the purchase of the ticket and standard regardless of purchase location. Considering the added costs of airport parking, car services or car rental fees, this is a deal for frequent business travelers.

With one of Christohperson’s five offices located in Denver, our team is excited for the opportunity to use public transportation to the airport for our future trips. Christopherson Business Travel is a top corporate travel management company. We provide our clients reliable customer service and helpful travel technology. To learn more about our travel management solutions, contact us or call our Denver office at 303-694-3322.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Management Travel Technology

Christopherson Business Travel Helps with Duty of Care

Business travel has become an integral part of conducting modern day business. But one factor that often goes unnoticed in the trip is the duty of care responsibility for the employee. Even companies with a good track record in business travel safety and security often have gaps in securing the well-being of their business traveler. While a gap in itself might seem small, any oversight could be perceived as negligence should something catastrophic happen. So how can companies be prepared for the unpredictable while their employees are traveling on their behalf?

SecurityLogic, our solution for duty of care concerns

Christopherson Business Travel’s duty of care tool, SecurityLogic, solves many of these open-ended questions facing duty of care responsibility for traveling employees. SecurityLogic helps travel managers access real-time security, weather, disaster, or delay alerts that may effect their travelers. Displayed on an easy-to-understand map, they can easily see where their travelers have been, are currently, and will be next. Creating insightful actionable intelligence, travel managers can anticipate any issues that may effect their employees.  Almost more exciting, this data can be pushed to business travelers themselves via text and/or email. SecurityLogic can be customized by department or user, limiting or permitting access to certain travelers or traveler groups.

SecurityLogic also has a two-way check-in feature called Safety Check that allows travel arrangers to verify the safety of their business travelers. Travelers respond to the Safety Check request via text message or email, and SecurityLogic geocodes their location.

Recently, in response to a client need, Christopherson incorporated the ability to track large groups–where they are going and who is part of the group–via special icons on the SecurityLogic map.

By continuously enhancing our proprietary technology, Christopherson works diligently to improve peace of mind for duty of care responsibilities. Contact us to learn more about how Christopherson Business Travel tends to very specific needs of businesses.

 

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry

United Airlines flies high in my book

United Airlines international travelWhile airlines constantly receive complaints for one reason or another, I have found that United Airlines continues to “up” their game when it comes to their international service.

I have long been a premium flyer with United but never thought their service matched other international carriers. I flew them simply for convenience as one of their hubs is in Denver (where I am based). But in the last couple of years, I have seen a great improvement in both the attitude of the in-flight crew and the service offered.

Did you know they serve ice cream sundaes in business class on international flights? I look forward to this, since most desserts are pretty predictable and boring. Their entrée options are tasty and varied, and most of the flight attendants seem to be enjoying themselves. (Of course, you will occasionally find one here or there that spoils this.)

A smile or a kind word can certainly go a long way when you are traveling. The memory of your flight may not be the highlight of your trip, but on United Airlines you have a chance. Give them a try again.

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry Travel News

Southwest is raising early bird check-in fee

southwest EarlyBird Check-in fees

Southwest is currently not raising fares or charging bag fees but they are raising the fee of their EarlyBird Check-in service. Originally starting at $12.50, it now could cost $15 to $25 each way. The cost to the traveler will depend on the length of the flight and popularity of EarlyBird on that route.

What is EarlyBird Check-in?

EarlyBird Check-in is a Southwest service that automatically checks travelers in before the standard 24-hour time frame. By paying for this additional service, the traveler has the opportunity of being one of the first on the plane. If you are unfamiliar with Southwest’s boarding system, the seats are claimed on a first come, first serve basis. The boarding passes are arranged with different boarding groups (A, B, or C) and a boarding position (1-60). Passengers line up and board the plane based on the group and position. By paying an additional EarlyBird check-in fee, there is additional opportunity of being assigned in the boarding groups A or B, with a higher position number. This gives ample opportunity of grabbing the best seat and first access to the overhead bins.

This is not the first EarlyBird fee increase from Southwest

Originally, EarlyBird was introduced in 2009, charging only $10 each way. It later increased to $12.50, and then to $15 in 2016 (at the time of the original posting of this post).  Another criticism of the service is there is no guarantee of  being in boarding group A, or with a top boarding position number. It will be interesting to see if the service is as successful with this fee increase with no upgrades to the service itself.

Christopherson Business Travel is a travel management company, specializing in business travel. We have been in the travel business for over 60 years, and provide custom mobile technology tools and superior customer service. Contact us for more information on our services or traveler assistance dashboards.

 

Categories
Travel Tips

Hotel Room Safety – Choosing The Right Room Location

airline efficiency rates

Regardless if your travel is for  business or pleasure, domestic or international, there is a high probability that you will be staying in a hotel. Unfortunately in our world today, it is safe practice to keep security in mind while planning travel. Below are a few tips from an expert on security and safety in hotels.

The hotel room location matters in an emergency

Rob Walker, head of information and analysis for travel security at London-based International SOS, told the MailOnline Travel which rooms are the best to book for a better chance of survival in the event of a fire, attack, or disaster. If traveling in the United States, his suggestions include choosing a room above the first or second floors yet lower than the sixth or seventh floors. The reason? Those rooms are out of harm’s way in terms of burglars, but low enough that you could survive a fall if you needed to jump. It’s also within reach of most fire department ladders.

“We also recommend travelers request rooms on the side of the building further away from the lobby, which is likely to be the main entry point for any attacker,” Walker said. “It is preferable to also choose the side away from other public areas, such as hotel restaurants, as those areas can be a target area, and rooms that are not easily accessed from the street, so as not to be an easy target for criminals. Yet, ideally it is good to be near the emergency exit stairs.”

Additional hotel room safety tips:

Along with having things like an emergency evacuation plan ready to go, Walker recommends keeping a few other things in mind:

  • Avoid rooms with interlocking doors if possible.
  • Choose hotels that are not in high crime neighborhoods.
  • Make sure your room has the following: deadbolts, an eyehole, and evacuation procedures.
  • Pack a doorstop.
  • When you enter, prop your hotel room door open with your luggage and do a quick sweep to make sure there are no intruders.

Read next:

Categories
Company News and Announcements

University of Colorado Improves Infrequent Traveler Experience

BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS | APR 18, 2016

University of Colorado Improves Infrequent Traveler Experience

Categories
Business Travel Travel Industry Travel News

What is the new “basic economy” class?

Previously offered only by discount carriers, the “basic economy” class is also offered by Delta. This fare competes with ultra-low cost carriers (LCCs) like Spirit and Frontier. What you get is simply transportation from point A to B with restrictions on seat selection and checked bags, no refunds or changes, and no upgrading to elite perks.

At JP Morgan’s Aviation conference in March, both American and United announced they are following suit with Delta. American will stick with the name, “basic economy,” and will introduce the option in the second half of 2016. United will call their new fare class, “entry level,” with no announcement of when. Routes were not announced by either airline. Delta started with routes to and from locations where they compete with Spirit and Frontier, but is slowly moving into other cities.

Of these new options, Skift’s Grant Martin wrote, “And while it’s a lucrative change for the airlines and premium travelers, unrest among budget travelers may start to grow. With no alternative airline to find refuge in, however, the budget travel community may finally be out of luck.”

 

Categories
Business Travel

What is the size of 16.5 Football Fields?

Salt Lake City car rental facility
If you guessed the new Salt Lake City International Airport rental car facility, you are correct. Construction of the new car rental facilities, which began Nov. 4, 2014, is complete and it is the size of 16.5  football fields. The new structures total 502,000 square feet.

Of course, this is just a “small” part of a much bigger project. When it comes to the Salt Lake City International Airport Terminal Redevelopment Program, here is what you can anticipate in 2016:

  • Construction of a new, larger Park and Wait Lot
  • Enclose airfield space to begin work on the new south concourse
  • Work to lay utilities across outbound Terminal Drive, near the International Terminal
  • Demolition of the south leg of the E Concourse
  • Rerouting Terminal Drive to make a hard left around the parking structure

When will it be completely finished?  Well, for this you will have to wait until 2020.

To stay updated on The New SLC, check out the Progress Gallery, follow them on social media, or sign up for email updates.

Categories
Travel Management Travel Technology

Corporate Travel Programs Need Actionable Intelligence

actionable intelligenceAt the beginning of 2016, Christopherson Business Travel announced that we’ll begin transitioning our integrated business travel management software platform, AirPortal®,from providing “business intelligence” to “actionable intelligence.”

To this end, we built our 2016-2017 technology roadmap to support this improved strategy. We have more than 40 technology projects in the pipeline, half of which are to enhance existing business travel technologies, while the other half will provide new solutions to other business travel management problems. Many of these projects will be completed for our major AirPortal technology release scheduled for July of this year.

The use of Big Data has been evolving for many years from data capture, to data analytics, to data visualization, to business intelligence. The next logical step is to convert business intelligence to become actionable intelligence. Author and educator Keith B. Carter wrote the following in his book Actionable Intelligence:

“Leaders from all industries yearn for more information. They want to be able to assess risks and opportunities quickly and efficiently. They want answers in enough time to be able to make a difference. They want to seize opportunities. They need intelligence that is in time and accurate. They want… actionable intelligence.”

Hotel Attachment. Hotel Attachment tracks travel itineraries with missing hotel reservations and assists business travelers by providing clear options to match their needs and complete their itinerary prior to their business trip

As the CEO of Christopherson, I was recently interviewed by Skift, a media group that provides news and insights on the travel industry, and shared additionalthoughts about actionable intelligence:

“The problem with business intelligence is [that while] it’s very interesting and it’s useful … it’s backwards looking, so all of the new stuff that we’re building, we’re building with a more actionable forward-looking lens … We’re building a work-to-zero task manager for our travel managers that shows them in an actionable way all of the pending things that they need to do.”