Before Locomote
Tedious and inconvenient booking procedure
Impractical travel options and high booking fees
Time-consuming and prolonged booking exchanges
After Locomote
All-in-one and easily navigable travel booking platform
Over 29% savings via cost-effective travel and booking options
Engaging yet fast booking process, saving over 33% in time to review and book
About Gold Coast Titans
The Gold Coast Titans rugby league team was founded in 2007 and is based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It’s currently the youngest team in the National Rugby League (NLR).
Despite its young age, the team is composed of strong-willed players who strive for success both inside and outside the field. The Gold Coast Titans are not only a team but a community. They have a loyal following of dedicated fans and partners in the Yugambeh Language region.
The Gold Coast Titans team is proud of and pays tribute to this region. It pays its respects to the Kombumerri families and their elders, who are the traditional custodians of the land.
As for their fans, the Gold Coast Titans reward their unwavering support by giving exciting and energetic performances. They give 100% in each game they play and give their supporters a reason to continue believing in them.
As a member of the NLR, the Gold Coast Titans participate in rugby matches throughout Australia and New Zealand. Hence, it’s a given that the entire team regularly books business travel arrangements throughout the NLR season.
With matches and training being set one after another, finding a reliable booking platform can be a challenge. Fortunately, the Gold Coast Titans found such a platform with Locomote.
Previous Obstacles the Gold Coast Titans Encountered
Cumbersome Multi-Product Booking
Before discovering Locomote, Gold Coast Titans had to conduct bookings for separate services like flights, car hire, and other travel accommodations across different platforms.
This required the team to sift through different websites just to look for available and good deals.
Once the bookings and arrangements were completed, they would then be collated into a single travel itinerary. This made the entire process cumbersome.
The absence of a one-stop shop caused a lot of inconvenience for the players and the management team alike.
This was compounded by the unintuitive interface and non-flexible booking options of some travel websites.
For the Gold Coast Titans to become the top team in the NLR, it had to overcome this travel booking hurdle first. A reliable and convenient solution needed to be found.
Impractical Travel Booking Options
The NLR season starts in March and ends in October. During these months, each team plays 24 matches that are held either in Australia or New Zealand. This means that travel expenses for teams like Gold Coast Titans can pile up, especially if they have matches set overseas.
Hence, it was imperative to find a cost-effective travel booking solution.
However, prior to using Locomote, the Gold Coast Titans did not always get the best and most practical booking deals. Some of the websites they used offered pricier flight options. Given the countless websites to choose from, it was likewise difficult to make effective comparisons.
On top of this, the travel agents the team used to work with charged relatively high booking fees.
Time-Consuming Process
During the NLR season, most of a rugby team’s time should be spent practising and conditioning the players. However, the Gold Coast Titan’s past travel experiences made this difficult since the booking services were costly not just in terms of money but also time.
The Gold Coast Titans partnered with a few travel agencies in the past. However, the selection and confirmation of travel packages often took a long time to complete. This was due to prolonged and extensive back-and-forth correspondences between the booker or traveller and the agent.
This unnecessarily diverted certain team personnel’s attention away from the players and incoming games. They were instead forced to follow up on these travel transactions and await their completion.
The Gold Coast Titans’ CFO Natasha Daley shared; “After learning of the Locomote product and having a demonstration on its usability and access to ample providers, as well as the travel approval process, we had no hesitation in moving across to the platform for our travel requirements.”
Solutions by Locomote
User-Friendly and All-Inclusive Interface
Locomote provided a completely different search and navigation experience for the Gold Coast Titans. Instead of using several sites and finding their way through a confusing web design, they’re now greeted by a streamlined and unified user interface.
Locomote allowed the Gold Coast Titans to view all travel options for different accommodations and products all in one portal. It provided the team with a wide list of travel services, including travel advisory and regulation details. The interface even enabled the team to manage company travel policies.
The search interface is also responsive and easy to use. It emulates the user experience you’d get from established and popular travel apps and sites, so it’s easy to get used to Locomote’s interface.
Moreover, the Locomote platform enables operations managers to book, organise, and set up travel itineraries and policies conveniently. For a rugby team like Gold Coast Titans, this means less time spent on travel arrangements and more time preparing to get to the championship match.
Reasonable Booking Fee
The Gold Coast Titans were looking for cost-effective travel booking solutions, and Locomote was able to deliver on this criterion. The platform’s booking fee is noticeably less expensive than what the previous agents used to charge.
Moreover, for the affordable fee Locomote charges, travellers can contact the staff and make booking changes even after the trip’s commencement. This makes the cost of using Locomote more appealing since not all business travel service providers provide this option.
Locomote even has travel management tools that can help operations managers and travellers reduce costs. It provides a detailed record of the booking expenditure that allows users to make informed business and travel decisions.
Streamlined Installation and Booking Process
One of the travel hurdles the Gold Coast Titans had to contend with was the drawn-out booking process. That’s why it’s a relief that Locomote is fast both in terms of the installation and booking approval process.
Installing the Locomote platform was straightforward and seamless. Moreover, the staff gave the Gold Coast Titans team a clear walkthrough on how to set up the approval process and traveller details.
Locomote even gives travellers 24/7 online access to their bookings. Should any traveller have a question or request, they can contact and ask the staff any time.
This engaging yet streamlined booking process was emphasised by Gold Coast Titans’ CFO Natasha Daley; “Locomote removes some of the back and forth because all options are laid out for the person booking to view and make decisions quicker.”
Before Locomote
- Tedious and inconvenient booking procedure
- Impractical travel packages and high booking fees
- Time-consuming and prolonged booking exchanges
After Locomote
- All-in-one and easily navigable travel booking platform
- Cost-effective travel and booking packages
- Engaging yet fast booking process
Conclusion
The National Rugby League is an exclusive club composed of professional rugby teams. Those that comprise its roster are given the chance to represent and give honour to their respective regions and countries.
Moreover, the fans get to witness thrilling matches and genuine displays of camaraderie and sportsmanship. Hence, it’s only proper that the teams get proper treatment.
Like all the other professional rugby teams that make up the league, the Gold Coast Titans need all the support they can get both inside and outside the field. This includes giving its players a hassle-free travel experience.
In the past, this driven team experienced travel and booking challenges, ranging from cumbersome booking interfaces to drawn-out booking processes. However, with Locomote’s business travel solutions, the Gold Coast Titan’s interstate and intrastate travels will no longer be plagued by booking issues.
Aside from charging affordable booking fees, Locomote streamlined the entire booking process and allowed the entire team and its managers to focus on what truly matters — the rugby game.
Starting as the youngest member of the NLR, the Gold Coast Titans has grown into a formidable team with a huge number of loyal and dedicated supporters. Locomote is one of these supporters and is honoured to provide this team with the travel and booking service it deserves.
