For the bulk of the past two years, the pandemic has put the kibosh on corporate travel of nearly any kind. This has dampened investors' enthusiasm in travel and expense (T&E) startups, predictably, whose expertise lies in creating software for travel and other forms of expensing. But as the appetite for in-person events and interactions returns to what it once was, T&E is again becoming a category of interest. Case in point: Itilite, a Bengaluru, India-based company developing T&E software, today announced that it raised $29 million in a Series C round co-led by Tiger Global and existing investor Dharana Capital with participation from Matrix Partners and Tenacity Ventures. In an interview with TechCrunch, CEO Mayank Kukreja said that the proceeds will be put toward "aggressively expand[ing] in North America via product innovation, sales and marketing and partnership development."

NATIONAL REPORT--What does the future hold for the travel industry? For starters, technology will continue to shape the guest experience as hotel brands make this a vital point of focus. Whether it's through in-room technology, service-oriented robots or the seamless integration of a new process or service, change is coming. "Personalization has begun to take off thanks to artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology. But, to date, the impact of personalization has been largely contained to rates and hotel options in the travel industry," said Kaluzny.

According to recent research, more than three quarters (76%) of corporate travel managers report that their travel programme is only partially integrated, meaning that travellers can book some elements of their business trip on a single platform, such as their flight or hotel, but not their whole journey from door-to-door. The booking process is not made easy or seamless, different legs of the trip are not intelligently linked together, and it does not help travellers get where they want to go without having to overcome some hurdles. But cutting edge, emerging technology is helping to solve this problem. Using AI, the different elements of a trip can be elegantly woven together, providing users with an end-to-end travel management solution. Imagine you are a business traveller who has flown to Schiphol Airport for a meeting at the European headquarters of major international sportswear brand, Nike, in Hilversum, 24 kilometres southeast of Amsterdam.

Hotel solutions provider HRS has introduced rate projection technology powered by augmented artificial intelligence (AAI). The company claims AAI is "superior" to standard artificial intelligence because it runs multiple data models instead of a single routine. Its own models leverage prediction algorithms used by financial institutions, social networks and large e-commerce marketplaces. These models are then combined and validated for accuracy before automation reviews all results and selects the model or output with the least degree of error. HRS says its AAI models are based on machine learning that identifies complex patterns from continuous hotel rate data feeds.

CCS Insight unveiled a set of predictions for 2020 and beyond at its annual future-gazing event in London on Thursday 3 October. With the turn of the decade approaching, the tech analyst firm's timeframe was longer than usual, stretching to 2030. A total of 90 predictions were released (10 fewer than last year), ranging from the properly futuristic ('By 2030, there is a permanent communication station on the Moon') to the very specific ('Samsung launches Galaxy Glasses in 2022'). The event saw keynote presentations from CCS Insight analysts and on-stage interviews with tech luminaries including: Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm; Stefan Streit, CMO at TCL; Olaf Swantee, CEO of Sunrise; and Daniel Rausch, VP Smart Home at Amazon. Here are CCS Insight's top 15 predictions (with some'further reading' links): By 2021, algorithmic and anti-bias data auditors emerge to tackle "pale, male and stale" artificial intelligence Read more on ZDNet & TechRepublic What is bias in AI really, and why can't AI neutralize it?

In the year that Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey turns 50, you could be forgiven for asking where is the space-age future we were promised? Many still choose to travel to meetings in favour of using videophones and we don't have a permanent colony on the Moon, let alone Jupiter. Teleconferencing technology is improving though as just a few weeks ago Canadian researchers unveiled the TeleHuman 2, a 3D holographic projection system that smacks of the Star Trek holodeck. The system is based on a ring of intelligent projectors mounted above and around a reflective, human-sized cylindrical pod. The display projects a light field composed of many images, one for every degree of angle, so users need not wear a headset or 3D glasses to see each other.

Replacing the standard in-room phone, hotels like Jupiter Next in Portland, Ore., offer devices such as Roxy, a speech-enabled console, to respond to guest requests -- whether it's a need for fresh towels, a weather report, a ride, or to stream Bruce Springsteen. Another feature allows Roxy to recommend local restaurants or activities. Several new properties are touting robots that can deliver room service and anything else that fits in their storage compartment. On the back end, robots are assisting housekeeping by delivering linens and transporting waste. When booking an airline through a frequent flyer program, AI can use machine learning to recommend flights and seats you may like, based on your previous travel.

Traveling for business can be a pain. Between finding an affordable flight, booking a hotel, and figuring out transportation, traveling often turns out to be more of a headache than expected. This is especially true for business trips, which are typically short and often given on short notice. However, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to make business travel much easier. As of right now, businesses are already feeling the incredible impact of AI in daily operations.

The business travel industry is in the throes of a new era of transformation as it gradually evolves into a technologically-equipped sector. Dynamic growth in business travel due to a recovering global economy and increasing customer expectations are important factors driving this change. Companies are striving to harness emerging technologies to enhance operational efficiencies in travel and expense management while delivering unparalleled user experience. Not only are they inclined towards technology innovation and proliferation of devices, applications and capabilities, but also towards experiences that will drive real value. Customised travel solutions offering new sources of revenue and growth, and streamlining of budgets through a uniform experience across platforms, are the need of the day.

This is a viewpoint from Alex Kaluzny, Chief Technology Officer at Egencia. Judging from the GBTA/VDR conference in Frankfurt last month, artificial intelligence (AI) is top of mind when discussing the evolution of business travel. With a variety of sessions on the subject, topics ranged from major players describing ROI on current AI-powered solutions to panel discussions on the basics, like "what is a chatbot." With mentions of great AI-driven solutions already on the market, it's obvious that the consumer world is creating expectations for conversational interfaces, like Alexa, as well as proactive reminders and suggestions. For example, Google can now tell you what time to leave for your doctor's appointment. But taking a closer look, we see that for business travel the reality is that artificial intelligence is still in its infancy.