Agents Soon to Offer ‘Telepresence’ to Clients

“Telepresence” is not yet a household word, but it is rapidly growing phenomenon, and one in which agents may soon be playing a larger role.

Telepresence is a type of teleconferencing developed by Cisco Systems that goes beyond the traditional screen-to-screen experience. By using high-definition video and audio, it creates the illusion that meeting participants are sitting in the same room, even though they may be thousands of miles away in separate “telepresence suites.”

The Illusion of Face-to-Face

In many suites, the video screen curves around a table, adding to the feeling that participants are physically present.

Travel agents and corporate clients will be able to book telepresence suites next year through a collaboration of Sabre Travel Network and Cisco.

The two companies plan to develop a distribution and reservations platform for the services that will enable bookings for any participating telepresence provider and any point of sale, regardless of GDS affiliation.

Any agency that handles corporate travel is likely to encounter the telepresence concept in the next few years.
 
Forrester Research has found that 17% of U.S. business travelers have used either videoconferencing or virtual presence in the past year to reduce their business travel, and 48% expect their employers will have policies in place by the end of this year regarding the use of videoconferencing and virtual presence to reduce demand for business travel.

A March 2010 report by Bernstein Research states that “technical advances in video conferencing have moved the capability to an entirely new level over the last 18 months, so that it now has the potential to fundamentally impact business travel.”

Could Replace Most Internal Travel

Based on the success of telepresence among early adopters, the firm makes a stunning prediction: It says 70% of internal travel and 10% of external travel could be replaced over the next 10 to 15 years, resulting in an aggregate reduction of 21% in corporate travel spending.

The report also said that about 30% of the estimated 6 million to 8 million conference rooms in the U.S. will be telepresence-enabled over the next five years.

Currently, a few large companies have private suites, which they monetize by renting them out when they are not in use, and large travel management companies such as American Express and Carlson Wagonlit have begun to act as “aggregators” of telepresence facilities.

Going Mainstream

But the concept is going mainstream: According to the report, approximately $30 billion will be spent in the U.S. on telepresence over the next 10 to 15 years, and 46% of that will come from small companies.

Already, major hotel chains, including Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, have begun offering telepresence suites in hotels in heavy business markets, such as Chicago and Hong Kong.

If Bernstein Research’s predictions are correct, agents need to find a way to stay relevant in the face of radically reduced business travel.

A Role for Agents

To create the new platform, Sabre will contribute its expertise in reservations and distribution, while Cisco brings its experience with telepresence technology to the partnership.

Users of the distribution platform will be able to view room availability in real time, book meetings and review applicable rates and restrictions.

Public telepresence providers and private corporations will have the ability to provide open or restricted access to their rooms through the platform.

For example, public telepresence suite providers could provide open access to view and reserve their rooms, while corporations with private rooms could restrict viewership to their employees and selected business partners.

Chris Kroeger, senior vice president of Sabre Travel Network, noted that although travel remains the principal method of collaboration, corporations have been “tightening their belts in a variety of ways” since the economic downturn. New methods of collaboration have grown in popularity.

Comparing Costs

Suzanne Neufang, general manager of GetThere, said users of GetThere and Sabre Red, the new travel agent desktop, will be able to view comparisons of collaboration options.

There also will be a standalone option, she said.

They will see, for example, the total air fare for meeting participants compared with the costs of renting telepresence suites. The comparisons will provide “visual guilt” to keep costs down, she said.

In some cases, travel will still win the cost contest: Telepresence suites in hotels generally cost about $500 per hour for up to six participants. They are not yet ubiquitous, so companies may need to fly their employees to an enabled location.

GregWebb, president of Sabre Travel Network, said the business model of the distribution platform is likely to be “mixed” in terms of who pays for transactions. “The economic model will evolve, and internal system use will have a different model than public use,” he said.

Coming monday: American Express and its clients are using telepresence as part of their corporate travel program.