KAYAK for Business: The first corporate travel solution with blockchain and direct airline connections

KAYAK is making waves with its new enterprise solution. Eva Fouquet, SVP of KAYAK for Business, recently shared insights into how this new platform is addressing longstanding challenges in the industry. By offering interoperability across different booking platforms and introducing blockchain-based expense solutions, KAYAK aims to streamline the entire travel management process for both companies and their employees.

The new KAYAK for Business platform tackles several key pain points in corporate travel, including content management, servicing, data integration, and expense reporting. By partnering with major airlines and leveraging technologies like Blockskye Pay, KAYAK is positioning itself at the forefront of a shift in how business travel is booked, managed, and analyzed. This approach not only promises to enhance the traveler experience but also offers companies more robust tools for policy compliance and data-driven decision-making.

How does Kayak’s new Enterprise solution, which offers interoperability across different booking platforms, address the longstanding challenges in corporate travel management? And what implications might this have for user adoption and overall travel program effectiveness?

KAYAK for business is all about taking the pain points out of planning business travel with:

1. Content: Companies want to decide what flight options their employees can see, while employees want a user-friendly experience that shows all available flights, prices, and extras based on their loyalty status.
2. Servicing: By integrating new APIs from major airlines, KAYAK for Business lets travelers buy airline tickets directly from major airlines. This means travelers can book and manage their flights through the platform, their agency, an airline website/app, or at the airport.
3. Data: Both the company and the traveler can now easily see any changes in travel plans. We’re accessing content from a variety of sources and bringing it together in one seamless fashion, underpinned by a consistent data model on the blockchain.
4. Expense: Addressing another pain point, we teamed up with Blockskye to use Blockskye Pay technology. This removes the need for credit cards when booking trips and makes reporting expenses easier. This is a big help since 43% of US travelers struggle with managing expenses during business trips, according to a KAYAK survey. 

*Note: KAYAK for Business works directly with airlines like American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines,

Analyze the potential impact of Blockskye Pay’s blockchain-based expense solution on the traditional corporate travel ecosystem. How might this technology disrupt existing processes and relationships between travel management companies, airlines, and corporate clients?

This solution makes it easier to handle expenses by getting rid of manual reporting, which can save time and money. It also lets you confirm expenses instantly and takes care of highlighting and promoting unused tickets, which helps big companies avoid losing money on unused tickets. 

It also gives businesses better connections to suppliers and helps travel companies solve long standing issues related to booking content and compatibility. It also allows travel companies to manage bookings directly with airlines, while airlines can offer travelers improved content and features through better ticketing systems.

KAYAK’s collaboration with major airlines to provide direct connections and enhanced traveler functionality represents a shift in the industry. How might this approach change the competitive landscape for online travel agencies and traditional travel management companies?

Airlines are aiming to drive more bookings through their direct channels, prioritizing their loyal customers. We are helping facilitate this connection in conjunction with duty of care, reporting, policy compliance, and other essential services. This shift is expected to be a long-term trend, and users and suppliers will likely favor solutions (like KAYAK for Business) that align with this strategy.

The new solution promises real-time tracking of employee travel and spend. How could this capability transform the way companies manage their travel programs, and what new opportunities might it create for data-driven decision making in corporate travel?

Companies are looking to move from descriptive analytics (what happened in the past) towards prescriptive analytics (how can we make it happen in the future) and data is the key for this development. 

For example, when it comes to extra services, knowing what your travelers are choosing and what they get for free can help you negotiate better deals with airlines for customized bundles. 

KAYAK’s Enterprise solution aims to provide a consumer-grade experience for business travelers. How might this approach influence employee satisfaction and compliance with corporate travel policies, and what challenges might companies face in implementing such a system?

The onboarding process is easy and we’re able to add company specific policies and customizations into the platform so companies can enable features that their travelers desire.

Compliance with company policies will improve because employees can now see all airline options and add extras when booking. Knowing what’s covered in the ticket, choosing preferred seats (like extra legroom based on status), and paying for luggage are crucial for travelers.