Technology offers fully autonomous chat-based booking
BCD Travel announced a strategic partnership with SkyLink, an interactive AI-based corporate travel assistant. The technology, said the announcement, offers a fully autonomous chat-based booking experience focused on improving productivity and efficiency for travelers, travel arrangers and agents while driving program compliance and cost savings for customers.
SkyLink, according to the announcement, leverages a suite of AI technologies to deliver personalized, policy-compliant recommendations through a chat-based experience. This technology securely integrates directly into customers’ existing enterprise chat channels, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack. Travelers can instantly engage with the SkyLink application 24/7 to shop and complete reservations, modify or cancel existing reservations or find answers to important travel-related questions.
Yannis Karmis, BCD’s senior vice president of product planning and development, said the company “is addressing traveler demand for efficiency and speed, while also driving cost savings and compliance for customers.” SkyLink’s integration with BCD’s open platform, he said, “creates a market-leading engagement capability with travelers.”
SkyLink’s platform integrates with BCD Travel’s Commerce Platform, offering, said the announcement, “unparalleled flexibility and scalability.” Designed to deliver a fully autonomous and touchless travel experience, every SkyLink booking remains standardized and fully supported by BCD’s agents.
Atyab Bhatti, CEO at SkyLink, said, “By integrating BCD’s capabilities, we can seamlessly deploy into global travel programs.” Together with BCD, he said, “we’re redefining the corporate traveler experience through modernization and collaboration, bringing best of breed technology to everyone.” SkyLink is currently available for BCD’s large-scale customers in North America, with Europe and additional markets to follow.
