UTAH BUSINESS | JULY 17, 2018
Utah’s Fast 50
Month: August 2018
UTAH BUSINESS | JULY 13, 2018
Christopherson Business Travel Empowers Travel Managers with New Data Analytics Technology
We are excited to announce our latest innovation in travel management technology at this year’s GBTA Convention in San Diego, CA. In connection with Domo, the world’s leading data visualization platform, we are premiering our advanced travel analytics tools. Integrated within our AirPortal platform, these 16 tools allow our customers to visualize their travel data in new ways, empowering them to make data-driven decisions.
Our CEO, Mike Cameron says, “In today’s world, you have to bring technology to the front and provide meaningful tools to move business forward. Without it, travel managers will fall behind.” We find clients often avoid analyzing their travel data altogether, never seeing the insights that their program and travelers really need. That was our motivation behind developing a solution that makes travel data easier to understand. “Being able to visualize the story their data tells allows them to take informed action that ultimately helps them run a more cost-effective travel program.”
What are the additional benefits of our travel analytics tools?
- Easy accessibility – Located on the AirPortal 360 dashboard, travel managers will find a comprehensive overview of their travel data in one convenient location. With 16 data cards on display, additional information and filters can be accessed within each card. Further customization and display settings are also available.
- Reduces travel spend – Understand the story your travel program is telling you and use it to reduce costs. For example, by using the ‘Online vs. Full Service’ or ‘Top 25 Travelers’ data cards, a travel manager can understand their travelers’ habits or preferences. By then aligning travel policies, they can ultimately save the company money while meeting the needs of their employees.
- Helps negotiate better vendor contracts – Identify the trends hiding in your data. By using the ‘Hotel By State’ or ‘Top 10 Hotel Chains’ data cards, travel managers can analyze patterns within their travel data. Through this easy analysis, they may recognize increased hotel bookings within one state or chain, providing a chance to negotiate better vendor contracts.
By providing easier visualizations of their data, travel managers can more effectively understand their travel program, ultimately empowering them make data-driven decisions. Stop by our expo booth 535 for a first hand look at our premier technology tools or schedule an appointment with our team through the convention planner.
Hope to see you at GBTA this week!
SALT LAKE CITY—Aug. 13, 2018—Christopherson Business Travel, the leading business travel management company in the western United States, in connection with Domo, the world’s leading data visualization platform, is pushing technology to the next level for customers.
“Because data visualization is key to making smart business decisions today, we have developed a new collection of advanced travel analytics that show customers essential travel information in real time,” said Mike Cameron, CEO of Christopherson Business Travel.
Christopherson, which has built a robust technology team dedicated to designing tools and software for business travel managers and their travelers, has integrated Domo’s powerful data cards into the company’s travel manager dashboard AirPortal 360, providing an instant view of travel patterns and essential analytics.
“With Domo cards now embedded in AirPortal 360, our travel managers can bring all their unique travel data together in real-time, which provides powerful insight,” said Cameron. “From there, they can align the metrics that are relevant to them and bridge the gap between data and people.
“Being able to visualize the story their data tells allows them to take informed action that ultimately helps them run a more cost-effective travel program.”
With customer expectations at an all-time high, Christopherson was the first travel management company to integrate with Domo and leverage their robust data technology for the benefit of enhanced customer insights.
“We see this as an imperative move,” Cameron said. “In today’s world, you have to bring technology to the front and provide meaningful tools to move business forward. Without it, travel managers will fall behind.
“The versatility of AirPortal 360, combined with Domo’s expertise, delivers deeper customer insights.”
Currently, Christopherson has 16 unique data cards built and integrated into AirPortal 360, which travel managers can access to make more informed, data-backed decisions for their travel programs.
“For example, by drilling into our ‘Hotels by State’ and ‘Top 10 Hotel Chains’ data cards, a travel manager can analyze the patterns that would allow him or her to negotiate better vendor contracts,” said Cameron.
“By drilling into the ‘Online vs Full-Service’ and ‘Top 25 Travelers’ cards, a travel manager can gain insight into their travelers’ habits and align travel policies that help those travelers make decisions that could ultimately save the company money.
“Having this kind of real-time insight is beyond what travel management data provided in the past and will greatly benefit every company.”
Christopherson Business Travel, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is the independently owned leader in business travel management, online travel tools, and business travel resources. As the twelfth largest business travel agency in the United States, with more than 400 team members and 5 full-service locations across the country, the company supports more than $600 million in annual travel bookings. Christopherson provides intelligent travel management to more than 1,000 successful companies and organizations, and is an affiliate of BCD Travel. To learn more about Christopherson Business Travel, visit cbtravel.com.
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Media Contact:
Krista Ercin-Maurer
303-694-8770
krista.ercin-maurer@cbtravel.com
Ride sharing apps should be pretty straight forward, right? You request a ride, they pick you up, drop you off, and you are charged for the distance and time. It’s simple in theory, but as Uber scams made news last week, the function is now under a microscope. The driver can easily manipulate the story, being paid for services or fees never occurred, and leaving the customer in the dust with costly fines or bans. People using ride sharing apps should be aware of the potential scams and how to avoid them.
What Uber scams are you talking about?
The first scam is creatively called ‘vomit fraud’. Picture this. You’re picked up by an Uber and dropped off without a hitch. The next day you receive an email from Uber, notifying you of a $150 dollar “adjustment” due to damages from your recent ride. Included are images sent from the driver to Uber of vomit in the car. You know you didn’t spill anything, make a mess, and certainly didn’t puke in the Uber vehicle. You email Uber to alert them of the false charges. Their response? The driver claimed it happened and has pictures of the mess. It quickly becomes a ‘he said/she said’ situation, and in most cases, without the passenger ability to ‘prove’ their innocence, they accrue the high priced fee.
Of course, if a passenger did vomit or spill inside of an Uber car, there should be an additional clean up fee. After all, the mess potentially lost the driver’s rides for the rest of the night, ultimately affecting their livelihood. And there should be a fee to clean up someone else’s mess. Uber has previously said, “the vast majority of cleaning fee reports are legitimately the result of someone making a mess in the car. In the instances where we find a confirmed case of fraud, we take appropriate action.” What has become the crux of the issue is some drivers taking advantage of this policy for their own benefit.
Another fraud technique is being charged for a ride you did not take. This can happen if the user request a ride and then cancels it. It still leaves the driver an opportunity to charge them for the ride. Ultimately, it can be pretty easy for the rider to never see these additional charges. After all, the user’s credit card is automatically charged for the service. If they aren’t checking their email or meticulously watching their bank statements, they may never see the charges. And the driver is hoping they won’t notice either.
Tips to stay safe and avoid ride sharing scams
Ride sharing services make sense when everything goes as planned. It’s when it comes to the sketchy drivers and scam artists that make them a potential minefield for fraud or even danger. Whether you’re using a ride sharing service for business, standard commute, or night on the town, there is always room to play it safe. Here are a few recommendations to stay protected and ensure you won’t be charged in the future.
- Regularly check your payment statements after a ride or cancelled ride.
- If you need to cancel a ride, take a screenshot of the cancellation page. If you are charged for the rise later, you can prove the charge is fraudulent.
- Ensure the car and license plate matches the car you requested. If it does not, do not get in the car.
- Take a pic of the car and license plate. Also the interior before and after the ride to avoid a vomit fraud charge.
- Ride in the back of the car to you can disembark from either side, as recommended by Uber.
- Share ride details with friends, call a friend during ride, or use a safety app like these.
- Use an intersection or nearby business as your destination if you are concerned about them having your address.
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