Business travel has a complicated relationship with technology. Tell us more from your point of view as a supplier.

Each time a business invests in its tech capability it must integrate and talk to every other tech platform used by both the business and its clients, both proprietary and bought-in.

We crave integrations with all the platforms our clients use. However, the universe is vast and changing constantly. As an app-based global business we have some benefits over legacy operators, but we don’t have all the answers. Embracing disruption is the only way forward.

What tech challenges do you think the business travel industry needs to overcome?

Earlier this year we carried out research looking at the insights of over 120 UK business travellers and travel bookers. Almost half (49%) of our respondents are still calling for apps as a much-needed improvement, which is staggering in 2025!

Greater mobile app functionality is a huge industry challenge, but it’s also important to note that many travel policies don’t allow app bookings. Our mantra is supporting our clients in their channel of choice, while also making the case for increasing policy compliance by offering the tools travellers want to use.

Almost two-thirds (61%) ranked the most valuable developments they are looking for as real-time updates and alerts. We often think about these alerts helping during disruption, but mobile-friendly working also brings peace of mind when logistics are running to plan. Our ‘your chauffeur is on the way’ SMS messages and in-app alerts are hugely valued.

What about the relationship between tech and sustainability? What should we be looking out for?

When it comes to sustainability, one of the biggest roles technology can play is in tracking and reporting. It is important that travel managers have suppliers who can provide the data they need to effectively monitor emissions. The right data can also be carefully analysed to recognise trends, develop targets for improvement and find opportunities to change policies to aid broader sustainability objectives.

How do you use AI day to day at Blacklane?

AI is like a personal assistant to help us go faster and monitor data. At Blacklane, AI supports our efforts to fill ‘empty legs’ and match a chauffeur on a long-distance journey with another booking for the
return ride. Importantly, for our clients this reduces the carbon footprint of the original booking, bringing yet more sustainability benefits.

It is AI that assists with automatic updates to guests, for example to reassure them that when a flight is delayed their booking includes one hour of chauffeur waiting time. AI also helps to spot trends in data. Of course, it takes a human expert to see if that trend is meaningful, and to assess how we respond.  

How do we support industry colleagues who feel nervous about AI developments?

While changes in AI are coming all the time, they certainly take some getting used to. This means ensuring training and upskilling opportunities that build confidence, including between suppliers and clients, to empower open conversations about where AI may be able to improve a certain process.

We encourage building knowledge, always with the caveat that the human mind and human touchpoints are critical. For example, we have business-wide hackathons where anyone can submit
ideas and experiment where AI might be able to enhance the guest, client or chauffeur partner experience.

Past hackathons have delivered ways to automate time-consuming manual processes, freeing up time and reducing frustration. There’s one coming up soon – please share ideas with your account managers for our tech teams to dive into!

Will we see driverless Blacklane vehicles anytime soon?

Driverless vehicles are part of the future in the ground transport industry. Driverless taxis in a city such as San Francisco are now firmly on the tourist trail. From a business travel perspective there are huge considerations, and we haven’t yet encountered a travel policy that allows bookings with a driverless service. Right now we don’t believe that premium business travellers are ready to replace human care with robotics.

As driverless technology improves and we are all more acclimatised to the risks, there will be a place for autonomous vehicles in business travel. For Blacklane – where taking care of our guests is part of our DNA – we cannot see a future where the chauffeur will not have a significant role in supporting our guests, albeit they may not be driving the car. Innovation in applying the human touch will always be a part of what we do.

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