Sounding Off: Innovation in travel is only in the eye of the beholder

Each Friday, PhocusWire dissects and debates an industry trend or new development covered on our site that week.

It often seems as if established travel brands get fairly irked with all the attention that is given to travel startups.

New companies win competitions and their latest products or technology are showcased, all with the notion that these emerging players are going to set the industry alight.

As we all know, the latter is rarely the case.

But events where startups are given the opportunity to demonstrate their idea are an important part of illustrating that the Next Big Thing almost exclusively comes from outside the status quo.

The reality is one of language - primarily that there is a huge problem with actual word at the heart of it all: "Innovation."

It's over-used. It is often applied to technology that is not part of the existing mechanics that ensure the industry runs as smoothly as it does (and, let's not forget, it generally does).

Travel management companies are doing great things to reinvent themselves (some faster than others) to meet the requirements of an evolving customer base (traveling employees) and the ever-present role of technology in our lives.

"Innovation", as it should be defined, can only be applied to the introduction of processes that have a fundamental impact on the way the industry runs.

It can be applied to business models, of course, but in this particular vein, "innovation" is even far less prevalent a concept in the travel industry.

The most innovative ideas to emerge in the last decade or so - that have stayed the course - remain the introduction of so-called sharing economy-type services (vehicles, home, etc).

These products, for want of a better word, have caused brands in ground transportation or hospitality to completely rethink how they meet the challenge of competing with those with the ability supply the service.

Perhaps it is time to stop worrying about who is apparently providing the "innovation" and simply concentrate on ensuring that a brand keeps up with market forces, customer requirements and technology.

The introduction of a new piece of technology doesn't need to change the world, especially if it does more to solve a problem in-house that then improves the experience of travelers.