The story of Sam FCM INSIGHT - FCM Travel Solutions
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FCM INSIGHT The story of Sam
FCM INSIGHT The story of Sam
THE
STORY
OF SAM
Introduction
When you list the biggest
disruptions to the travel
industry, smartphones and
apps are up there near the top
alongside the Wright brothers’
first flight in 1903.
When travelling for pleasure, our
lives have been transformed by
mobiles and tablets; they influence
the way we book, research and
understand our destinations or
make travel plans, and help us
quickly navigate problems during
our journeys.
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FCM INSIGHT
However, among TMCs
technology has too often
been used to simply enhance
existing tools for online booking,
expenses or reporting; it has been
harnessed to make savings within
travel policy spend, rather than to
drive innovation in the business
traveller’s experience.
fcmtravel.co.uk Page 3
FCM INSIGHT The story of Sam
The future of
business travel
It was this disconnect that fueled imaginations at FCM to pioneer a
specific traveller-focused mobile application, the Smart Assistant for
Mobile or Sam for short. FCM was the first TMC to do this and Sam
was founded on three clear pillars:
Booking capabilities Contextual information Traveller support
and alerts on the go
Powered by artificial Sam handles everything from
intelligence, Sam is a booking flights, hotels or ground
travel assistant in transport to updating travellers on
the weather at their destination
the pocket. so they know what to pack. It also
advises on the exact departure
The app has proved a game- gate, flight time changes or where
changer and works using a simple to collect bags plus suggests
and intuitive chatbot-based restaurants to visit, alerts
interface meaning it is just like about traffic delays and connects
using Facebook Messenger the user to a live text or phone chat
or WhatsApp. with a consultant if needed
or wanted.
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FCM INSIGHT
An app with a
friendly personality
When the idea was conceived In fact, the personality of one
back in late 2015, the brief for specific consultant was taken
Sam was clear: Create a mobile as a reference point. “She was
application for both Apple’s extremely effective. Very fun and
App Store and Google Play that not too formal,” says one of those
will put the business traveller’s who worked to deliver the Sam
needs first and put all the project. “We wanted to replicate
information, documentation that feeling of someone taking
and advice they need in one care of you but in an app that
place in a fun, friendly, informal had an emotional connection to
and easy-to-use way. the traveller.”
Sam is a product of the
groundbreaking and innovative
FCM Lab, a collection of in-house
progressive IT specialists who
have the freedom to identify gaps
in travel management where
technology would make a tangible
difference to clients.
Their mission was not to create
another itinerary app. For Sam to
work, it had to have personality
and purpose, replicating the one-
to-one personal service offered
by FCM’s own experienced
travel consultants.
fcmtravel.co.uk Page 5
FCM INSIGHT The story of Sam
Extensive research
makes a Minimum
Viable Product
To achieve this FCM undertook
a few dozen phone and in- “We only wanted to
person interviews with a huge build features that
range of travellers, arrangers business travellers
and bookers from clients.
Each was asked a long list of
would actually use and
questions about their day-to- find beneficial, not just
day travel needs, the problems what they thought they
they have encountered and
may need. So we tested
what they would want from an
app like Sam. everything manually
first before writing a
Their answers were then single line of code,” the
quantified and the most common
used as the basis for Sam’s
developer said.
features, ones that met a variety
of requirements and solved
recurring issues.
“We knew an assistant concept was far more valuable
to clients and offered many more possibilities for
the future. We didn’t want just an itinerary app
as it was clear travellers enjoyed having two-way
communication, not just their problems solved.”
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FCM INSIGHT
A one-to-one
experience
He added: “It was crucial we The premium paid-for version of
created an emotionally-satisfying Sam launched in November 2017
experience, not just another for FCM clients in the UK, USA,
dry piece of software. Sam had Canada, France and Switzerland. A
to feel like someone real when phased rollout then begun to FCM
meeting the needs raised in our clients country by country across
research, such as having a lack of the rest of Europe, Asia and Latin
information, not knowing what America so by Q1 2019 Sam will be
was going to happen if there was a operational in 50 markets.
problem or disruption and also to
combat the traveller feeling alone
or helpless.” The app works
anytime and anywhere
storing information
downloaded so it can
be used offline. It needs
a mobile or Wi-Fi
connection to access
new data, use the live
chat or receive alerts
when on the move.
And while Artificial Intelligence
(AI) may still be in its infancy, it is
very present in Sam, with further
advances planned.
fcmtravel.co.uk Page 7
FCM INSIGHT The story of Sam
Understanding
each traveller’s
circumstances
For example, when the traveller
lands at the airport, Sam can
instantly offer them a car from
Uber or Lyft to their hotel
because it knows they’ve arrived
in the country and has details of
their destination. The traveller
can then accept or decline.
When Sam recognises they are in
a new place, it will automatically
provide a useful city guide with
information on typical prices,
tipping and local customs.
On the return journey, it can alert
them to heavy traffic and suggest
leaving earlier to get to the airport,
even offering to call a car straight
away. If that doesn’t work for the
traveller, Sam will be able to quickly
start a chat with a consultant and
rearrange travel plans as needed.
Importantly, Sam has
a sense of humour too,
for example it can offer
fun stats such as ‘You’ve
spent 87 hours flying –
that’s equivalent to 9.6
Star Wars films’.
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FCM INSIGHT
Human
consultants
still remain
very important
The team behind Sam admit AI Reactions have been very positive.
and technology alone cannot Many travellers have told how they
solve every problem. That is why have been “saved by Sam” or have
from the very beginning Sam was built up an “emotional connection”
designed to augment the work of to it. In an NPS survey, “80% of
agents and not replace them. the users scored Sam with a 9 or
10. Sam has also proved positive
for deaf and hard-of-hearing
What it does travellers who find it harder to
successfully is pick up the phone quickly when
centralise all of the they have a problem.
traveller’s choices and
then handles repetitive
tasks effectively and
efficiently. This allows
human productivity
at FCM to increase as
consultants can focus
more on requests and
challenges they as
people can add value to.
fcmtravel.co.uk Page 9
FCM INSIGHT The story of Sam
Ensuring Sam
HELPS
and doesn’t annoy
One of the biggest challenges
to date though has been to take
information from lots of different
meta sources and find the right
ones that will have the most
up-time, so it won’t let travellers
down by failing to provide details
when they need them.
The AI is also still
learning. In the future
FCM says Sam will be
able to recommend the
“perfect” restaurant
by itself but in the
meantime the app
is always trying to
understand more
behind-the-scenes.
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“If Sam sends driving directions and the user doesn’t
look at it a certain number of times, it will stop sending
them. This assures Sam remains helpful rather than
becoming annoying.”
“The AI is watching the user’s Another future advance will be to It is also planned that travellers
interaction flow. It’s watching the booking system. For example, will seamlessly interact with
what messages they look at, if a traveller has forgotten to book the app in a single chat thread,
it’s watching how it’s delivering a hotel or needs a new one, Sam rather than the two separate ones
messages to users and it’s will know the previous hotels each available now. Eventually they
constantly adapting and tweaking traveller has stayed in and simply won’t be able to distinguish who
the information delivery based on ask if they want a room at their is handling a request, unless Sam
individual needs and preferences,” regular hotel. Improving these delegates to a consultant.
says John Morhous, FCM chief booking flows means less reliance
strategy officer. “If Sam sends on having to log on via the web to
driving directions and the user internal booking solutions, which
doesn’t look at it a certain number can be difficult when on the go.
of times, it will stop sending them.
This assures Sam remains helpful
rather than becoming annoying.”
fcmtravel.co.uk Page 11FCM INSIGHT The story of Sam
A travel app for the new
BUSINESS
generation
The first version of Sam took
9 months to develop but has
proved immensely popular very
quickly with a growing tranche
of younger, more digitally-savvy
travellers and executives. It
currently has nearly 13000
active users with an average
of 2500 new ones signing up
each month.
Sam’s branding was also important
and took six months to complete.
The developer said: “That’s why
we chosen the “:]” representation.
It’s something communicating
sympathy, that can even be written
so no need to use a visual file like
conventional logos. It works so well
that we’ve even seen people using
the :] smile instead of the default
one when communicating via email
about Sam.”
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FCM’s own innovations. Various
new features are either being
piloted now or planned for the
future and these may include:
• The integration of FCM’s online
booking tool Seeqa
• The functionality to perform the
check-in process on the user’s
behalf
• Sharing trip details with other
users so trips appear in each of
their itineraries
• Adding 50 new city guides
chosen based on users’ most-
visited destinations
• Segment navigation so users
can quickly navigate all of their
reservations
• Integration with Trips so trips
can be seamlessly imported
into Sam
• Automatically choosing a
Company profile in Uber for
Business when booking
Other additions including piloting
SAM for Travel Managers in response
to feedback from clients, expanding
capabilities to any arranger, booker,
EA or travel manager so they can view
their current travellers’ itineraries, as
well as receive crucial notifications
about events that affect them, such as
flight delays or cancellations.
Sam has also recently been integrated
with artificial intelligence startup
30SecondsToFly’s chatbot Claire, as a
pilot for AI-enhanced self-booking air
and lodging capability.
fcmtravel.co.uk Page 13FCM INSIGHT The story of Sam
A personalised
experience improves
well-being
The developer said: “Business real-time relevant safety alerts
travel can be challenging or leveraging crowdsourced
so knowing personalised intelligence so travellers share
proactive, rather than reactive, travel tips with fellow users.”
support is on-hand 24/7 can
be a huge relief and confidence But despite all of this hard work,
booster for clients. It can there is still one important question
also improve their well-being, to be answered about Sam. The
especially if they are taking developer laughs: “Some male
frequent trips. clients talk about Sam as if it is a
woman. Many female clients talk
“Sam allows us to uphold and about Sam as if it is a man. We left
enhance the employer’s duty of it open to travellers can make their
care, something we take seriously own minds up and form their own
at FCM and we will make further most valuable connection with Sam.”
features available in that area
over the next 12-24 months.
These could include recognising a
traveller’s location and triggering
Page 14 FCM Travel SolutionsFCM INSIGHT
What travellers have
said about Sam…
“Sam’s flight delay notifications have assisted me immensely – on one
occasion it had a significant business impact for me. Thank you!”
“Wow! This is great I already have Tripit and App in the Air and didn’t
think this would add much value but I love Sam’s interface
and features.”
“Sam has provided very handy information when it was urgently
needed throughout my business trip.”
“I have appreciated the ease and convenience Sam provides me during
my travel. The staff make the process seamless and are always there to
assist.”
“Great customization and up-to-date. Extremely helpful!”
“Great app that is like having a travel manager in my pocket!”
“Great single location of my travel info! Super, simple and quick.”
“Sam is a brilliant use case. A mixture of itinerary management and in-
app bots. LOVE it.”
“No worries about flight cancellations. Just call Sam.”
“The more I use Sam, the more I’m convinced it’s head and shoulders
above other apps.”
fcmtravel.co.uk Page 15? About FCM FCM is a single global brand providing a comprehensive range of corporate travel and expense management solutions. We have a presence in more than 95 countries and are regarded as one of the top five travel management companies in the world. FCM is responsible for the travel programmes of some of the world’s most successful corporate brands. It has always been personalised service that sets FCM apart from the rest and we blend this with innovative technology and unrivalled access to content to drive the optimum performance of your travel programme. Contact us today to find out how FCM can elevate the performance of your corporate travel programme.
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