At A Glance
Nurses
Regions
Airline Tickets
Introduction
When one of Cain Travel’s major healthcare staffing clients was called to staff multiple nurse strikes across the U.S., Cain was tasked with managing a surge in flight bookings within a short timeframe. Cain Travel received a courtesy notice about the potential strike, followed by official notification ten days before 4,250 nurses needed to be in Southern California, Northern California, the Pacific Northwest (Portland), and Hawaii.
Timeline
Execution
Scalable Booking System
Cain leveraged its proprietary booking platform, built with advanced API data gathering and automation capabilities, to handle the initial surge of bookings. Through this platform, nurses received custom booking links that automatically applied the travel policy parameters, including arrival times, cost constraints, class of service, and preferred airlines. Each strike location had its own travel policy groups (ranging from 5 to 15 per location) to ensure compliance with the client’s operational and cost guidelines.
Seamless Online & Agent Support
Cain’s operational model adapted dynamically as the strike timeline approached. Nurses booked their travel online in the days leading up to the strike. Once a traveler was within 24 hours of needing to depart, Cain’s agent team took over to finalize any outstanding bookings, ensuring every traveler had a confirmed ticket. This process involved managing approximately 400–700 tickets per day. The hybrid approach maximized efficiency while preserving personalized attention to last-minute needs.
Change Management
Originally, all changes and approvals were to be funneled through the client. However, as request volume grew, the client requested that Cain take a more central role in the process, so Cain quickly pivoted to provide direct traveler support, establishing a dedicated phone line and email inbox for nurse travelers to contact. Cain’s team absorbed over 2,000 additional phone calls and a high volume of direct emails, ensuring every nurse received timely assistance.
Real-Time Data & Fraud Prevention
Cain’s dynamic technology delivered continuous, real-time visibility into traveler movements and booking statuses via arrival and departure manifests to maintain staffing compliance and control costs. Additionally, the system was used to identify and prevent duplicate or fraudulent bookings, validate traveler eligibility to ensure that only assigned nurses received tickets, and track the completion of return travel to validate & ensure ticket usage.