FCM Launches Proprietary Online Booking Tool in the UK

29 June, 2022 – Global travel management company FCM is reshaping the corporate travel business through a slew of proprietary client solutions debuting in the UK over the coming months.

Alongside the global rollout of its highly anticipated omnichannel technology, FCM Platform including access via the new mobile app, the company has revealed it is launching FCM Booking, an innovative alternative to traditional OBTs. This latest development represents another exciting milestone in FCM’s evolving technology journey and firmly positions it as a leader in the tech travel space.

According to FCM Global Managing Director, Marcus Eklund, the company’s technology expertise is borne through an ambitious strategy focusing on user experience and flexibility, while taking full advantage of the significant investments it has made in recent years.

“By prioritising the delivery of user centric tech, we are able to provide a standout service to our clients that addresses their pain points, provides exceptional flexibility and personalisation while providing an incomparable online experience through innovative tools like FCM Platform,” said Eklund.

With FCM Platform’s open-platform solution, clients can choose from recommended APIs to deliver desired feature and functionality requirements on a market-by-market basis – like HR feeds, duty of care providers and booking tool selection – this will soon include FCM’s own proprietary option.

As the newest component of the wider platform offering, FCM Booking has been developed to hit the sweet spot for companies who value user experience balanced with control of key elements around their travel policy. Piloting of FCM Booking is underway in the UK with plans to start onboarding new customers later this year.

“We envisage this booking tool will help UK travel managers make data driven decisions around booking behaviour. FCM Booking intends to close a gap in the mid-market segment for those looking to marry cost control with a friendly user experience that supports and encourages strong online adoption,” added Eklund.

It is this seamless integration into the FCM platform that dispels with the usual cumbersome set up associated with other OBTs. Travel managers can expect a speedy onboarding and configuration process, while the agile set up also allows for a responsive approach to fine-tuning the policy in the future.

Intuitive design and simple navigation belie a host of innovative elements developed in response to the evolving expectations of an increasingly travel hungry, tech-savvy and budget conscious clientele.  

“Our client’s priorities have changed, and we have evolved our tech to support that. The combination of our proprietary tech with our client-first approach means we are very well positioned support their business aims in the year ahead,” said Eklund. 

A unique policy ‘tuning’ feature enables programme managers to control travel options by setting personalised algorithms and even individual spend levels. Armed with this information, the tool’s AI technology does the legwork and removes the frustration typically associated when searching via multiple sites, serving up a variety of choices based on learned behaviours to align with company travel policies and programme goals, while taking traveller preferences and loyalty affiliations into consideration. To aid choice and best value, travellers can access aggregated air and hotel content via multiple sources in one simple and easy booking flow thanks to FCM’s proprietary browser-extension software.

In a year that has seen FCM consistently gain market-share in the UK through a clutch of multi-national and government accounts, Eklund believes that FCM’s collaborative approach with customer and 3^rd parties linked with proprietary innovative technology gives the company a competitive edge. This will prove appealing to clients that are looking for responsive and inventive solutions from their corporate travel partner.

He said: “Through our expanding portfolio of FCM-owned and developed tools and services, we are uniquely placed to capture, understand and react to user behaviour and feedback. By fully owning the customer experience, we can act upon this valuable insight to continuously innovate and develop compelling solutions such as our new platform and FCM Booking to satisfy current client needs, while anticipating their future requirements too.”

For more details or to experience a demonstration of FCM Platform & Booking, book a demo here.