Bring Your Own Data (BYOD) — how it works
"Bring Your Own Data" (BYOD) is a mode in which you keep booking where you already book (Concur, Egencia, SAP, your TMC,
or directly with suppliers) and stream booking data into Travel Code via integration. On top of that data, the
platform's modules — Duty of Care, RateGuard, and Robert + Analytics — become available without migrating your main
booking tool.
How data gets into Travel Code
Three input methods are supported. You can combine them.
1. API integration
Direct API connection to existing systems:
- Concur
- Egencia
- SAP Concur
- Sabre
- Amadeus
- Cytric
- AmTrav
- Deem
Bookings flow in real time. This is the recommended channel for corporate programs — data arrives with minimal latency
and in a structured format.
2. Email forwarding
Travellers (or their assistants) forward booking confirmations to a dedicated address, e.g. yourcompany@travel-code.io.
The system parses each email automatically and ingests the booking.
Typical use cases:
- You have no API integration with your existing TMC.
- Some bookings are made directly with suppliers (united.com, booking.com, hotels.com, etc.).
- You want a low-friction start without IT involvement.
3. CSV upload
Bulk historical import + scheduled regular exports. Two main use cases:
- Historical data import (typically last 12 months) on initial onboarding — so Robert and Analytics have context from
day one.
- Regular scheduled exports from legacy systems or internal dashboards when API integration is not available.
What you get on the output side
Based on the ingested data, three independent modules become available. You can start with one and add the others later.
Duty of Care
Real-time traveller location tracking and incident response. Includes:
- Live location dashboard — all trips, all regions, filterable by risk level, one-click drill-down into individual
itineraries.
- "I'm Safe" button in the mobile app — during an incident the travel manager sees an aggregated safety status: how
many confirmed safe, who hasn't responded.
- Off-itinerary tracking — personal legs and itinerary changes added by the traveller through the app are tracked too,
not just the corporate booking.
- Emergency contacts and evacuation playbooks — pre-loaded escalation contacts per region and standard operating
procedures for common incident types.
Works on any booking ingested through any of the three input channels — regardless of where the booking was originally
made.
RateGuard
Automatic continuous re-shopping of existing bookings. What it does:
- Every 4 hours, checks whether the price for the same booking has dropped (same hotel, same dates, same room type /
same fare class).
- If the price is below what you paid — the system rebooks automatically (if your policy allows it) or queues a
one-click approval flow.
- Matching is based on exact identity, not on suspicious "deal" alternates.
Works on bookings from any source — API, email, or CSV.
Robert + Analytics
An AI agent that answers questions about your travel data in natural language. Includes:
- Voice or text queries — no dashboard building: "Top 10 destinations and adoption rate", "Spend vs. budget in EMEA
for the quarter", "Who travelled 5+ times this quarter".
- Multiple roles — travel manager, CFO, HR, security each get answers in their own vocabulary from the same data
backbone.
- External-AI connection via MCP server (Model Context Protocol). Your Claude / ChatGPT / internal LLM can query
travel data with one connection command — and correlate it with CRM, HR, finance data in the same conversation.
Setup phases
The standard sequence for a new BYOD customer:
Step 1 — Discovery (1–2 days)
Joint call: we map your existing stack (TMC, OBT, expense, HR), pick the cleanest data channel and decide which module
to start with.
Step 2 — Data integration (3–7 days)
- If an API integration is available — we set it up.
- If not — we provision an email-forwarding address or schedule CSV exports.
- In parallel we import historical data (typically 12 months) and validate quality on our side.
Step 3 — Module configuration (days 8–10)
Your team configures:
- Duty of Care alert thresholds (per region, per risk level).
- RateGuard policies (when to rebook automatically, when to request approval).
- Robert + Analytics access permissions per role.
Step 4 — Go live (days 11–14)
All selected modules are active. The travel manager sees the dashboard, Robert answers questions, RateGuard begins
re-shopping, Duty of Care tracks all trips.
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to switch from Concur / Egencia / our current TMC to Travel Code? No. That is the point of BYOD — you keep
booking on your current platform. Travel Code receives the data through integration and runs the modules on top of it.
What do travellers see? If only Duty of Care is enabled — the Travel Code mobile app with the "I'm Safe" button. If
RateGuard runs in auto mode — nothing: re-booking happens transparently. Robert + Analytics is a tool for travel
managers and stakeholders; end travellers don't see it.
What needs to happen on the IT side? It depends on the input channel. API integration requires a one-time access setup —
typically an OAuth token or a service account from your OBT vendor. Email forwarding and CSV upload do not require IT
involvement.
Will our historical data be preserved? Yes. As part of Step 2 we import history (12 months by default, more if needed) —
Robert and Analytics take it into account immediately.
What if a supplier doesn't return fare rules or some fields? In that case the corresponding fields stay empty — the
system never fills in defaults. This is expected behavior.
Can we enable only one module? Yes. The three modules are independent. You can start with one (e.g. Duty of Care only)
and add the others later without re-integrating — the data channel is the same.
Is the MCP connection for everyone or only for the technical team? The MCP server is a technical integration for your IT
or data team. It is required only if you want to query travel data from your own AI tools (Claude / ChatGPT / internal
LLM). To use Robert through Travel Code's own interface, MCP is not required.
If you have questions
Write to our support chat or to support@travel-code.com. For integration-related questions please mention which system
you use (Concur, Egencia, SAP, etc.) — that helps us propose the right setup faster.
