B Smart interviews Saad Berrada (Fairjungle CEO) on the future of business travel
Saad Berrada (Fairjungle Co-Founder) was invited as a guest on B SMART (“la chaîne des audacieux”) to speak with journalist Jean Marc Sylvestre on the future of business travel (video is in French) and the Fairjungle digital travel management tool.
Video transcription
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: With us, Saad Berrada. Hello, you are the founder, creator of a company called Fairjungle. When you see the name of the company like that, you think, what can they offer? I saw that you want to organize business trips.
SAAD BERRADA: So we're an intelligent booking and management platform for business travel dedicated to SMEs.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: And you book them, the air, you book the hotels, you book everything?
SAAD BERRADA: It's a single platform to manage all air, rail, and hotel reservations for all business travelers. And it allows companies to monitor the consumption of its employees to ensure that they respect the authorized budgets. That, they.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: They can control it like that.
SAAD BERRADA: That's one way to do it. But more importantly, today, it's especially important to control health regulations and employee safety in a post-crisis world.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: Today, it's at a standstill.
SAAD BERRADA: So today it's at a standstill indeed. So there is a reduction, as a result, of the volume of travel. But on the other hand, what is growing is the need to control the security of employees. So we're going to travel less, but companies will need more and more to make sure where their employees are. Are they safe? Are they going to a country? Have they respected the health rules of the country? So there is a growing need for control, even if the volume of travel is decreasing.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: And all that, that's one of the niches on which you can rebound and compensate for the lower volume of travel.
SAAD BERRADA: Exactly. So, our positioning is a little different from traditional travel agencies. We are a travel management solution.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: But honestly, from what you know, because you've had to keep talking to your clients, are we really going to change the world in a month or two? Or are we going to go back to the old ways?
SAAD BERRADA: Well, my personal conviction is that we are going to enter a world that is a little more complex, where we will be less driven by budgets alone. But it will be a multi-criteria equation with both carbon consumption and health considerations. So we will continue to travel, but we will travel differently, and we will take more criteria into consideration.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: It's going to be more complex, perhaps more intelligent?
SAAD BERRADA: Exactly.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: We're going to call on people like you!
SAAD BERRADA: At least, that's the idea.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: How old is your company?
SAAD BERRADA: It is almost three years old.
SAAD BERRADA: Three years is almost maturity for a company. So it's almost maturity?
SAAD BERRADA: Not quite.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: Unless there is another COVID-19!
SAAD BERRADA: We interpret this epidemic as a trend gas pedal. So, in this case, it's going to go in the direction of more digital solutions that are more about control and much less about ticketing.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: Saad Berrada, thank you very much.
SAAD BERRADA: Thank you!
Video transcription
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: With us, Saad Berrada. Hello, you are the founder, creator of a company called Fairjungle. When you see the name of the company like that, you think, what can they offer? I saw that you want to organize business trips.
SAAD BERRADA: So we're an intelligent booking and management platform for business travel dedicated to SMEs.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: And you book them, the air, you book the hotels, you book everything?
SAAD BERRADA: It's a single platform to manage all air, rail, and hotel reservations for all business travelers. And it allows companies to monitor the consumption of its employees to ensure that they respect the authorized budgets. That, they.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: They can control it like that.
SAAD BERRADA: That's one way to do it. But more importantly, today, it's especially important to control health regulations and employee safety in a post-crisis world.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: Today, it's at a standstill.
SAAD BERRADA: So today it's at a standstill indeed. So there is a reduction, as a result, of the volume of travel. But on the other hand, what is growing is the need to control the security of employees. So we're going to travel less, but companies will need more and more to make sure where their employees are. Are they safe? Are they going to a country? Have they respected the health rules of the country? So there is a growing need for control, even if the volume of travel is decreasing.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: And all that, that's one of the niches on which you can rebound and compensate for the lower volume of travel.
SAAD BERRADA: Exactly. So, our positioning is a little different from traditional travel agencies. We are a travel management solution.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: But honestly, from what you know, because you've had to keep talking to your clients, are we really going to change the world in a month or two? Or are we going to go back to the old ways?
SAAD BERRADA: Well, my personal conviction is that we are going to enter a world that is a little more complex, where we will be less driven by budgets alone. But it will be a multi-criteria equation with both carbon consumption and health considerations. So we will continue to travel, but we will travel differently, and we will take more criteria into consideration.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: It's going to be more complex, perhaps more intelligent?
SAAD BERRADA: Exactly.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: We're going to call on people like you!
SAAD BERRADA: At least, that's the idea.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: How old is your company?
SAAD BERRADA: It is almost three years old.
SAAD BERRADA: Three years is almost maturity for a company. So it's almost maturity?
SAAD BERRADA: Not quite.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: Unless there is another COVID-19!
SAAD BERRADA: We interpret this epidemic as a trend gas pedal. So, in this case, it's going to go in the direction of more digital solutions that are more about control and much less about ticketing.
JEAN-MARC SYLVESTRE: Saad Berrada, thank you very much.
SAAD BERRADA: Thank you!
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