Business travelers using BCD Travel’s TripSource® platform will soon be able to use voice activation to talk their way through self-service trip management, such as confirming hotel bookings, flight times and rental call pickups.
The newly unveiled voice-activated features are available on Alexa-enabled devices, including the Amazon Echo, Echo Plus or Echo Dot—as well as any smartphone loaded with the Alexa app. BCD will demonstrate the voice-activation features at the Global Business Travel Association Convention in San Diego, Aug. 11-15.
“We want to offer business travelers access to trip information using their favorite tools and devices wherever they are—the office, at home or on the go,” said Yannis Karmis, BCD’s senior vice president of Product Planning & Development. “Virtual voice technology gives us the opportunity to seamlessly integrate natural-language technologies into our TripSource platform and expand our self-service capabilities.”
The TripSource-Alexa combo enables customizable user options, such as the ability to expand itinerary access to others who use a shared Alexa device. For example, a child might request: “Alexa, ask TripSource when Mom’s flight is arriving.” The system recognizes “Mom” and provides the information.
As the service evolves, BCD will extend voice capabilities to planning and booking—not only on Alexa, but also on other virtual assistants, such as Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri.
Learn more about how TripSource makes travelers’ lives easier on the road and allows corporate programs to improve the traveler experience, duty of care and savings.
