In 2020, COVID-19 disrupted travel globally, resulting in new travel advisories and screenings. As the world’s leading travel management company, we stepped in to not only support travelers, but also pave the way to invest in new industry solutions like Travel Vitals™.

Disruption management is a core area of our front-line servicing. In response to COVID-19, we activated a cross-functional Incident Management Response (IMR) team to monitor the situation and act quickly on behalf of the business.

With the IMR team’s leadership, our Traveler Care organization was able to quickly pivot staff to handle the large volume of inquiries. Faced with high call volumes, confused travelers, and over 100,000 refunds, GBT travel counselors used their experience, training, and preparation to continue to deliver a high quality of service.

As a result, we supported more than 35,000 travelers globally while maintaining a 91% traveler satisfaction rating over the course of March 2020.¹ When flights were delayed or canceled, travelers were contacted automatically to assist with re-booking. Throughout this period of disruption, travelers used phone, email, text, and chat for assistance.

Our incident management team continues to monitor the situation and pivot to support client needs. Since March, we have invested in new solutions to assist travelers, like Travel Vitals™, a central source for information about travel advisories, and enhanced traveler notification and messaging solutions. We’ve also expanded direct-to-traveler communication methods, like chat, SMS texts, and traveler notifications. Moving forward, GBT will continue to focus on keeping the traveler informed and supported throughout their journey.