Asking the Experts About… TripLink and TripIt Pro

Concur TripLink and Concur TripIt Pro make business travel easier by connecting trips, travellers and itineraries across channels to enhance and simplify the entire travel experience.

Our Ask An Expert: TripLink and TripIt Pro webinar is a great place to find out more. Part of a series spread across four webinars about SAP Concur solutions, these 30-minute sessions provide invaluable insights by sitting down with topic experts and getting the lowdown on specific areas of our spend management solutions.

We’ve highlighted some key strategic considerations from the webinar that will ensure your business is fully utilising TripLink and TripIt Pro.

Ask An Expert: TripLink and TripIt Pro Webinar

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Many people like the control a well-established travel program provides, others like the freedom to book directly with a supplier, aggregator site or via a smartphone app. Both methods have valid arguments to support them but as Shaun Healey, Senior Solutions Consultant at SAP Concur explains in the webinar, the two parties often find themselves at odds.

“What our clients need is a go-between solution, something that sits in the middle, that advocates and understands for both parties,” he says. That solution is TripLink.

TripLink feeds all travel data into your SAP Concur solutions. Employees get what they want, and you keep all bookings within policy, recording them for management information, future supplier negotiation, risk management and emergency assistance.

Smarter, Easier Travel Booking

Organisations like yours are working hard to negotiate travel discounts and control expenses whilst keeping employees productive. “One of the advantages of synchronising a supplier account with an SAP Concur account is it automatically displays any negotiated or special rates you have secured,” Shaun Healey explains.

The list of TripLink partners is ever growing and includes big names such as Marriott, Airbnb, Booking.com, British Airways and Hertz. On the App Centre, the suppliers are sorted by default into categories – a recent update allows site administrators organise these as they prefer. If the provider is not yet a TripLink partner, users can simply email the booking details to plan@tripit.com to ensure the booking is absorbed into SAP Concur solutions.

Booking via a partner website is easy and once the booking is made, the information is sent directly to SAP Concur solutions. When visiting the users’ itinerary, the booking is displayed in exactly the same format as if it had been booked within the SAP Concur booking tool.

Getting Organised

TripLink includes a subscription to TripIt Pro. While TripLink is about cost visibility and control, TripIt Pro is about travel organisation. From booking the best seats to keeping a manager aware of your location in case of an emergency, TripIt Pro is a clever set of tools that keep travel stress-free, low risk and productive.

“It’s not just an amazing itinerary management tool” says Shaun Healey. “There are dozens and dozens of other tools within the main app.” He goes on to describe a handful of these.

At the planning stage of their trip, travellers can utilise tools such as Seat Tracker, Fare Tracker, Check-in Reminder, Point Tracker, International Travel Tools and COVID-19 travel guidance, which includes restrictions, requirements, vaccinations and infection rates.

TripIt Pro also tracks carbon emissions for each flight and route. “People want to track their carbon emissions from both an individual and business point of view and they can do this through TripIt app,” says Claire Wreford Client Engagement Executive. “It can see the airline you’ve flown, the route you’ve taken and look at the mileage and track the CO2 emissions that apply to that journey.”

The Day of Travel

There’s a lot to think about on the day of travel and TripIt Pro does the hard work for your employees. How are they going to get to their meeting or flight? Navigator is a search tool within TripIt Pro that shows the transportation options available and shows the estimated costs and travel times for each option, so travellers can decide which works best.

Are travellers dithering about planning a morning meeting before setting off for the airport? TripIt Pro will remind them when to leave with the Go Now tool and highlight any potential hold ups with Flight Status and Security. It creates a schedule and escorts users to the airport gate, connections or bags with walking directions.

Things not going to plan? Alternate Flights will give other options while Interactive Maps, Terminal and Gate Reminder and Connecting Flights help users get around the airport.

Are they worried about losing their documents? Uploading PDFs, photos, boarding passes, QR codes and other travel documents to TripIt Pro means they’re not frantically searching for them at the desk.

Safety and Duty of Care

You want your employees to be contactable, comfortable and safe at their destination – TripIt Pro provides all these things. The Navigator and Nearby Places features help travellers find amenities close to where they are staying, and Neighbourhood Safety Scores checks the safety of the destination. The Sharing and Calendar Sync options keep family and colleagues up to date with your travel plans. “It automatically updates so they’re always aware of your travel plans and it kicks into gear as soon as you book,” explains Shaun Healey. The Inner Circle feature allows users to nominate a list of people who are notified every time they make a travel plan, not just specific trips.

There you have it. With TripLink and TripIt Pro, business travel just became a lot more cost effective, controllable and efficient.

To find out more best practices, tips, and tricks, and get answers to support-related questions, watch the Ask an Expert: TripLink and TripIt Pro webinar.