Search Travel Market Report

mainlogo
www.travelmarketreport.com
  • News
  • Tours & Packages
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • Well-Being Travel
  • Training & Events
  • Who We Are
    • Anne Marie Moebes
    • Brian Israel
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Denise Caiazzo
    • Marilee Crocker
    • Paul M. Ruden
    • Dori Saltzman
    • Kelly Fontenelle

For TMCs, Open Booking Demands Shift in Thinking

by Fred Gebhart / August 15, 2013

Managed travel isn’t dead, or even dying. It is changing. The tactics that helped travel managers and TMCs manage travelers, travel spend and travel data a decade ago are faltering as travelers find it easier to book outside approved channels.

Today’s travel managers have a choice. They can keep trying to corral travelers within approved channels – and expect to lose track of the quarter of all travelers who go outside policy.

Or they can use new tools and techniques to manage across all channels, gaining visibility and data on that same 25% of business travelers who book and buy outside approved channels and currently escape data tracking and management systems.
 
Accepting open booking
“The battle for managed travel is already over,” said Scott Gillespie, co-founder of travel analytics firm tClara, at the recent GBTA convention in San Diego. “There is not a lot left to do to create value in traditional travel management. We have to change the way we manage.”

A year after Gillespie and consultant Evan Konwiser laid out a framework for what they called Travel 2.0, open booking has become an acceptable model for managing travel, if not the standard.

American Express, Carlson Wagonlit, BCD Travel, Egencia and other TMCs may not embrace open booking, but they have introduced tools that support it, since travelers who go out of channels still need to be tracked, managed and serviced.

A win-win-win?
“This new style of travel management embraces a need,” said David Kong, president and CEO of Best Western International, speaking at the recent GBTA Convention 2013.

Kong called the move to open booking a plus for all parties involved.

“This is a win for travelers because more open booking is easier. It is good for vendors because more travelers can use brand.com websites. And it is a win for travel managers because they have more data on more travelers than ever before.”
 
The effect on TMCs is less clear.

Something old
The updated version of travel management is not a free for all where travelers can book anything at any price. Travel policy doesn’t disappear. But instead of policy mandates, policy sets expectations and guidelines for booking, buying and conducting travel.

The goal of travel management doesn’t change, either. The idea is still to collect data as close to real time as possible, know where travelers are and be able to contact them at all times and to manage the total travel spend.

“Travelers should be able to book anywhere but bring that data back into the corporate system,” Concur CEO and chairman Steve Singh said at GBTA.

“Every day travel is booked outside the corporate system. We want to bring all that data back into the managed system. We have to embrace this shift and be sure that we are adding value for our corporate customers and travelers.”

Something new
What does change is the role of the travel manager and TMC. Instead of enforcing travel policy, they educate around policy.

Unmanaged travelers aren’t giving away the farm, Gillespie said, pointing to a 2012 GBTA study that found unmanaged travelers spend about 3% less than managed travelers.

“This is about making your own responsible travel decisions rather than following the company decision in every case,” he said.

Gillespie suggested that a move to open booking is a natural consequence of the move to self-booking. “We forced travelers to make their own bookings. We encouraged them to make decisions and we lost control. We let travelers become the chief decision makers.”

Today, TMCs and other vendors are introducing tools that let travelers make their own decisions and bring the data back into the managed system.

Pricing models
What vendors have not yet introduced are new payment models to replace transaction fees. But there have been tentative moves.

BCD Travel senior vice president Jorge Cruz said the company is developing a subscription model with client SalesForce.com. The goal is to replace transaction fees with per-traveler fees.

“Charging directly for service and data management isn’t a new pricing model, it’s just new to travel,” Konwiser said. “TMCs have tremendous value to add servicing the traveler and managing data. And they clearly should get paid for the value they provide.”

Next time: New tools to manage travel.

Related story:
Open Booking Is Good News for Managed Travel, Expert Says

  0
  0
Related Articles
GBTA Honors Dave Hilfman With Prestigious ICON Award
Airlines Reporting Corporation Sees Big Boost In Agency Sales Of One-Way Air Tickets
Travel Prices To Rise Nearly 4% By 2018
U.S. Business Travelers Spend $424 Billion in 2016
Many Business Travelers Staying At Home-Sharing Properties Unsupported By Travel Policy
GBTA Offers Training On Planning Corporate Meetings
Astronaut Scott Kelly to Speak at the Global Business Travel Association Convention
GBTA Appoints Three VPs
GBTA Forecasts Moderate Growth In Business Travel
Airlines Are The Stingiest Suppliers, Says GBTA Survey

MOST VIEWED

Brought To You By
  1. A&K Purchases Crystal Ships, Revives Crystal Cruises Brand
  2. CDC Adds Three Caribbean Destinations to “High-Risk” COVID-19 List
  3. Travel to Italy Is Officially Back to Normal
  4. Viking Drops Onboard & Pre-Cruise COVID-19 Testing
  5. Three Cruise Lines Bring Masks Back in Alaska
  6. How Travel Advisors Can Cope With Chaos in Air Travel

MOST EMAILED

Brought To You By
  1. Travel to Italy Is Officially Back to Normal
  2. Report: U.S. to End COVID-19 Air Travel Testing Requirement
  3. A&K Purchases Crystal Ships, Revives Crystal Cruises Brand
  4. Japan Could Boot Tourists Who Disobey COVID-19 Rules
  5. Viking Drops Onboard & Pre-Cruise COVID-19 Testing
  6. Bahamas Eliminates Travel Health Visa, But COVID Test Requirement Remains
TMR Subscription

Subscribe today to receive daily in-depth coverage, analysis of industry news, trends and issues that affect how you do business. Subscribe now for free.

Subscribe to TMR

Top Stories
Corporate Travel Tool Concur To Offer Airbnb Listings
Read...
Selecting The Right Venue For Meetings And Events
Selecting The Right Venue For Meetings And Events

Look to these six trends in the MICE industry.

Read...
TMR OUTLOOKS & WHITE PAPERS
CP White Paper
Multi-Gen Outlook
Distribution Outlook (1)
New to Cruise Outlook
Expedition 2020
River Cruise Outlook 2019
View All
Advertiser's Voice
https://img.youtube.com/vi/QTPIinGDcIY/0.jpg
Video: Can Booking Bachelor and Bachelorette Party Groups Be Profitable for Advisors?
About Travel Market Report Mission Editorial Staff Advisory Board Advertise
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events
Subscribe to TMR
Select Language
Do You Have an Idea Email
editor@travelmarketreport.com
Give Us a Call
1-(516) 730-3097
Drop Us a Note
Travel Market Report
71 Audrey Ave, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
News|Leisure Travel|Land Vacations|Cruise|Canada Retail Strategies|Well-Being|Luxury|Training
© 2005 - 2022 Travel Market Report, an American Marketing Group Inc. Company All Rights Reserved | 243 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 USA | Telephone (516) 730-3097| Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy