Ahead of the predicted boost in business travel demand, global corporate travel management company, Corporate Traveler, has unveiled Melon—its new proprietary travel management platform. Launched in the U.S. and Canada, Melon’s design and simple navigation belies a range of innovative features developed in response to the evolving expectations of tech-savvy, travel-hungry and budget-conscious business travelers.
The launch comes as America reopens its borders for international visitors. Filled with features like AI technology, round-the-clock service and proactive approaches to health and safety, this new platform aims to take the difficulty out of corporate travel management with a one-stop solution.
Commenting on the motivation for the development of Melon, Chris Lynes, senior vice president for Corporate Traveler said in a press release that the pandemic pause gave the company time to focus on their customers’ needs. The company adapted its offerings, investing in a digital experience that combines rich content supported by personalized service. He said that the travel platform is simple to use and is tailored to meet the needs of its customers.
Lynes added, “Our clients tell us that travel is crucial to their success, and in the U.S., we are already seeing encouraging signs of recovery with 35 percent uplift on bookings made in August alone. This indicates strong desire to return to in-person meetings in the months ahead.”
The new omni-channel platform has been designed to switch between mobile and desktop without losing functionality. With Melon, admins are also able to control travel options by setting personalized algorithms and even individual spend levels. Armed with this information, the platform’s AI technology does the legwork, thereby eliminating the frustration typically associated while searching across multiple sites, serving up a variety of choices based on learned behaviors to align with company travel policies and program goals, while taking traveler preferences and loyalty affiliations into consideration. A breakdown of spend, coupled with dashboard analysis of important KPI metrics in real-time also helps customers extract key data needed to inform decision making and accurately manage finances.
Melon also displays the latest guidelines before booking and proactively shares live updates. Program admins can also track employees’ whereabouts in real-time, while Melon’s health and safety capabilities provides prompt alerts on risk-related events impacting travel, such as country entry requirements, latest government and supplier COVID-19 restrictions, adverse weather, crime and more. These features are underpinned by access to dedicated travel consultants 24/7, 365 days a year.
Lynes added that it is difficult to keep track of the latest developments across the world in an ever-evolving travel environment. Amid this scenario, Melon ensures that customers stay informed and aware at every step of their booking journey. And while on the go, help is just an instant away whether via Melon’s AI mobile chat function or the assistance of the company’s agent support team.
Corporate Traveler customers also enjoy travel content and options sourced from a range of travel suppliers. Also, being part of the Flight Centre Travel Group, the platform aims to provide the best market-wide rates with added-value benefits and exclusive deals also available for customers.
For more information visit www.corporatetraveler.us/en-us.
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