Marty Yaskowich, a Vancouver-based advertising executive, has the business world at his fingertips thanks to the travel apps he has on his smartphone. He can be on the move in a flash. ‘It’s all about the last minute, and that’s the business traveller’s life,’ he says.Darryl Dyck
In the Oscar-nominated film Up in the Air, George Clooney plays an always-travelling consultant. At one point, he's in an airport with his new colleague, explaining how to get through security the fastest. Mr. Clooney zips along, and he's on his way.
For once, Hollywood reflects reality, according to Vancouver marketing executive Marty Yaskowich.
The Clooney-esque way of navigating airports across the country can be done with ease thanks to advancements in technology, he says.
"I was flying back from Pearson [International Airport, in Toronto] to Vancouver. I jumped out of an Uber at 4:34 p.m. for my 5 p.m. flight. At 4:47 p.m. I was on the tarmac," he says about one travelling scenario in which technology played a pivotal role. "There were some other perks at play, but that's the reality of today."
Whether it's taking advantage of mobile applications to track flights, book hotels or pay for transportation using paperless methods, this is just the way the world works now, Mr. Yaskowich explains.
"It's all about the last minute, and that's the business traveller's life. It's all about flexibility," he says. "We don't have time to mess around."
As the vice-president of strategy and innovation for the Vancouver office of DDB, a worldwide advertising agency with about 200 offices, Mr. Yaskowich plays an important role in helping land new business.
And often this translates into many trips on airplanes.
"We have great technology, like video conferencing or Skype, but there's no replacement for face-to-face," he says. "As good as all that can be, a handshake or a dinner out with clients is as important as ever in this business."
According to Mr. Yaskowich, there is no "typical" trip for him. It could be a week in Toronto, or a few days in San Francisco.
But no matter when or where he needs to go, he needs to be flexible. This, he says, is the most important thing when it comes to using technology for travel.
Any brand that is doing good work today has figured out the customer wants to be in control, and that's if they're in any business, not just the travel business, Mr. Yaskowich says. "I want to know what my options are and I want to be able to make choices."
Mr. Yaskowich says one of the companies doing well with modern business travellers is Air Canada.
For a company that people say is big and slow-to-change, he says, its mobile application is strong, and friendly for business travellers.
"It allows for a lot of flexibility and personal control," he explains.
This is exactly what Air Canada had in mind when the app was developed, according to Bal Sahjpaul, the airline's senior director of e-commerce. It's built to help business travellers save time.
"It's all about getting them that relevant information on demand. Travellers want us to push that information to them so then they get it and can prepare for changes," Mr. Sahjpaul says. "That's critical."
Mr. Sahjpaul says, anecdotally, he has seen the number of people book flights on mobile versus desktop double over the past two years.
Those numbers continue to rise as the amount of mobile data consumption increases, as well. A recent study from Cisco Systems says consumption in Canada will increase 54 per cent in the next five years.
Nicholas Osborne, who leads digital strategy for a major music label in Toronto, says when new travel technologies are released, it's clear they're designed with business users in mind.
"People who travel for business are your expert consumers who travel the most, so they're the earlier adopters of technology looking to make things easier, less stressful and more efficient," he says.
Mr. Osborne says that while in Los Angeles for four days in January, he didn't carry any U.S. cash on a business trip for the first time ever. He simply didn't need it.
"Between my phone with data roaming, an Uber account, and credit cards, I was able to accomplish anything that, in the past, I would have required cash for," he explains. "Travel, by nature, is inconvenient and stressful. New technologies solve both of those things."
Uber is one of the new services that has helped business travellers at home and abroad.
Available in six cities across Canada, and 56 countries around the world, Uber allows users to book and pay for a ride using a mobile app. While there has been concern in the genearl population about Uber's safety, liability and legality, according to a recent study from travel and expense report management company Certify, Uber-for-business riders are choosing uberX (a ride-sharing service) more than 70 per cent of the time compared with traditional cabs, saving companies an average of 30 per cent to 40 per cent a ride.
One of those companies is DDB.
Mr. Yaskowich says DDB's Toronto office has done away with a long-standing relationship with a cab company in the city.
"If I'm late for a flight at Pearson, I can hop out of an Uber – there's no paper – and I can e-mail the receipt to my assistant to put in an expense report even before I get on the plane," he says. "That's the kind of seamlessness that travellers are looking for."
"It's all about the customer being in control," he continues. "There used to be the 10-minute exchange of credit card [information] in the car, but that's completely done away with now."
For all the advances in technology that allow business travellers to become nearly self-sufficient, travel agencies such as Flight Centre say this isn't a threat to the way they do business.
"We find our clients prefer to research online, but book through an agent, particularly where there's a complicated itinerary or if they are inexperienced travellers. They also like having someone available should they have any issues with their travel," explains Allison Wallace, the director of media and communications for Flight Centre Canada.
Business travellers are definitely looking for different things than leisure travellers, according to Ms. Wallace. Flight Centre has chosen to change its business because of technological advances, but not because it had to.
"We want to offer the customer every opportunity to engage with a travel expert on their terms," continues Carre Le Page, Flight Centre's national marketing manager.
For modern business travellers such as Mr. Yaskowich, being able to do anything on his terms is the most important thing.
"You'd rather be at home, in your own bed, but when you get to a place where they've made your stay really easy, it's not nearly as bad as it could be, or how it's been in the past," he explains. "When you can get to the airport 25 minutes before a flight and still be comfortable and on your way, well, it's not the old days."
So even though most business travellers can't live like Mr. Clooney, they can, at least, travel like him.