Concur partners with Air Canada to account for ‘rogue travellers’
Oct 29, 2014, 10:48 am
#1
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Concur partners with Air Canada to account for ‘rogue travellers’
http://www.itbusiness.ca/news/concur...avellers/51864
Many office accountants are familiar with the ‘rogue travellers’ in their company – those who refuse to follow corporate-mandated processes for booking travel and instead just log on to the airline’s website to book tickets directly.
When that happens, any efforts to land a lower, negotiated rate with the air line are for not. Plus, the expenses don’t get logged until when they show up on the company credit card or an employee files a reimbursement claim. So now Bellevue, Wash.-based Concur is working with Air Canada to connect its cloud-based TripLink software with Air Canada’s website in order to capture details about travel arrangements as soon as they’re made.
Many office accountants are familiar with the ‘rogue travellers’ in their company – those who refuse to follow corporate-mandated processes for booking travel and instead just log on to the airline’s website to book tickets directly.
When that happens, any efforts to land a lower, negotiated rate with the air line are for not. Plus, the expenses don’t get logged until when they show up on the company credit card or an employee files a reimbursement claim. So now Bellevue, Wash.-based Concur is working with Air Canada to connect its cloud-based TripLink software with Air Canada’s website in order to capture details about travel arrangements as soon as they’re made.
Oct 29, 2014, 10:52 am
#2
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Question being, will these "rogue" bookings end up being accounted for in the corporate deal? Is that the objective?
Which is an issue my company (which lets me make my own reservations) has been struggling forever BTW.
Else, what's the point if the company would pay the expenses anyway? They cannot just not allow the employee to make a reservation on his own...
Which is an issue my company (which lets me make my own reservations) has been struggling forever BTW.
Else, what's the point if the company would pay the expenses anyway? They cannot just not allow the employee to make a reservation on his own...
Oct 29, 2014, 2:12 pm
#4
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Doesn't seem that bad. You still get control over your own booking. How is this captured though? Through your Aeroplan number? Certainly wouldn't want my personal travel being captured as well.
Concur TripLink will be updated next year so that users can authenticate their Concur account with AirCanada.com. Once that is done, future business travel booking done by that user on Air Canada’s website will automatically be logged by Concur. Corporate-negotiated rates will apply, expenses will be automatically captured, and the traveller still has control over the booking.
Last edited by yvr76; Oct 29, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Oct 29, 2014, 2:20 pm
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I don't really mind, but it means I have to go in and delete the entries every now and then.
Oct 29, 2014, 2:44 pm
#6
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It's "airline" and "all for naught." Am I the only one who doesn't take 'publications' seriously when they can't write properly?
Anyway, back OT, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. When I worked for a multinational, I was always petrified of falling afoul of some obscure travel policy requirement and not being reimbursed for corporate travel. I'd have loved to have some system go through my airfare and hotel bookings before I submitted an expense report that might've been rejected.
Oct 29, 2014, 2:46 pm
#7
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rogue travellers. Not to confused with rouge travellers.
Hopefully the posters that think they're clever by referring to rouge as rogue will reconsider.
After all, it is now possible to have a rogue, rouge traveller.
Hopefully the posters that think they're clever by referring to rouge as rogue will reconsider.
After all, it is now possible to have a rogue, rouge traveller.
Oct 29, 2014, 3:17 pm
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Oct 29, 2014, 3:25 pm
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Which would imply that AC could actually provide all of a traveller's bookings in a single location. Which currently they can't. Just try using the "My Bookings" link on the AC website. AE books are separate. FP bookings are separate. Particularly problematic for this is that corporate travel agent bookings (including bookings through Concur) don't appear there. 
So unless that gets fixed the whole thing is doomed to fail.
Having said that, I am sure the stated logic is true. This is invariably the reasoning explained whenever we get the generic "please comply with travel policy" emails--we can't get a good deal if we can't capture your travel.
So unless that gets fixed the whole thing is doomed to fail.Having said that, I am sure the stated logic is true. This is invariably the reasoning explained whenever we get the generic "please comply with travel policy" emails--we can't get a good deal if we can't capture your travel.
Oct 29, 2014, 4:01 pm
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I wonder if AC realizes that many corporate flies book directly because concur won't let them book fares because either a) it's not the cheapest and b) company policy forces them to book flex instead of tango.
By AC closing this loophole with concur they might be shooting themselves in the foot with selling fares and higher fares.
By AC closing this loophole with concur they might be shooting themselves in the foot with selling fares and higher fares.
Oct 29, 2014, 4:03 pm
#11
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And while I don't use Concur anymore (I used to) I also second those people who would not want their personal travel visible to their company.
Oct 29, 2014, 4:07 pm
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I wonder if AC realizes that many corporate flies book directly because concur won't let them book fares because either a) it's not the cheapest and b) company policy forces them to book flex instead of tango.
By AC closing this loophole with concur they might be shooting themselves in the foot with selling fares and higher fares.
By AC closing this loophole with concur they might be shooting themselves in the foot with selling fares and higher fares.
Oct 29, 2014, 4:13 pm
#13
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That would be the company's problem though, not Concur. Concur is fully customisable and can offer whatever fares the company chooses to allow. The way Concur has been set up for us is for AC, when you click on 'View More Fares' we get all options available (for example, we would see Flex (G), Flex (W), Flex (V), Flex (Q) etc.) and can then pick one.
In either case, AC will make less money because the flyers will no longer be able to get around their company policies. Hence this is something AC probably shouldn't be helping Concur with.
Oct 29, 2014, 4:16 pm
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Oct 29, 2014, 4:18 pm
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I will admit that is possible! But I would also argue that selling 5x more flights to companies based only on this change would also be unlikely.