Redefining Travel Agency-Travel Manager Partnership
by Michael BilligIf there can truly be any “up” side to a “down” economy, it just may be the facilitation of a closer working relationship between corporations/corporate travel managers and their affiliated travel agency partners.
As professionals on both sides of the equation maintain, the current economic climate has inexorably made travel-management coordination and cooperation more necessary than ever. And, to that end, Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) president Richard Crum contended: “The relationship between travel managers and (their) travel-management companies has never been better.”
To hear Alexandria, VA-based AirPlus International president Crum tell it: “The current economic environment has provided (both sides) with the perfect opportunity to rise to the occasion in (pursuit of) cutting costs, providing better service… and (ultimately) providing better support for the business traveler.”
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In terms of why bottom-line-focused travel-management agents are so essential today, American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) president and chair Chris Russo explained: “Today’s agents necessarily have to stay on top of a dynamic marketplace, what with ever-changing airline fees and the like.”
“Because all business — and their respective business operations — have been impacted by the economic downturn,” Russo said, “a travel-management-agency’s professional expertise is perhaps needed more today than ever before. Little wonder then that trust levels — in fact, the bond — between companies and their travel-management agencies continue to strengthen,” he added.
Offering observations from the vantage point of heading up his own business (Travel Partners, in Broomfield, CO), Russo noted: “We have to watch our own (travel) costs, too! Among other things, it’s just as crucial for us as for our corporate clients that we mandate adherence to a fiscally sound travel policy, do our best to negotiate attractive rates, stress the importance of utilizing just one frequent-flyer number, etc.”
Gazing into his crystal ball, Russo suggested that despite the current prevalence of less-than-optimal financial conditions as well as the accelerated development and utilization of electronic communications devices and systems, travel for business reasons will not only remain an on-going necessity but will likely undergo something of a growth spurt going forward. To this end, he envisioned a naturally expanding place for the travel-management agent in the overall business-travel-arrangement process.
“Electronic vehicles can, and do, certainly add to the point-to-point communications process,” he conceded. “But, in the long run, nothing beats the face-to-face/personal touch approach to doing business.”
Further voicing agreement on the prospect of the necessarily solid working relationship between corporations, their travel managers and affiliated travel-management agencies is Marc Casto, president of Casto Travel in San Jose, CA and a member of ASTA’s Corporate Advisory Council.
In his estimation: “All parties concerned have to keep in mind that business travel must be more traveler-centric than company-centric. To put it plainly,” Casto emphasized, “Job #1 has always been — and will continue to be — how best to get the traveler to his/her destination.”
Moreover, in order to successfully accomplish that mission, Casto maintained: “The most important thing a travel (management) agent can do is listen to — and fully understand — the clients’ needs. After all, not all travel advice is the same for all clients.”
“Sometimes, cost is paramount; sometimes, service is the driving force. And sometimes,” he added, “the prime consideration is a balanced combination of cost-consciousness and service-orientation.”
For those corporate clients demanding a full-service approach to the agency’s handling of their travel needs, Casto alluded to such typical affiliated-agency functions as:
* the management of tickets on file;
* assurance the company is signed up for all appropriate travel-supplier programs;
* positioning the company to capitalize on market incentives wherever and whenever applicable;
* an ability to shop multiple points of inventory (with Casto convinced “the GDS is not necessarily a 100% solution”); and
* the capability to work with preferred suppliers on clients’ behalf, perhaps calling on the support desk to waive non-refundable ticketing fees, clear space as needed, cancel hotel no-show penalties, etc.
“Not to be overlooked,” Casto continued, “are the basic expectations that the travel-management agency can — and will — help to: write/re-write the company travel policy and work to ensure compliance; certify that the pre-trip authorization process is clearly defined and effectively used; install various on-line booking solutions; and implement contracts for the aforementioned preferred suppliers.
“In the end, it’s the agent’s responsibility to tie all the different pieces of the process together… always to the benefit of the traveler,” Casto stressed.
On the other hand, it might prove surprising to hear Casto claim: “Sometimes, the best solution to a company’s travel problems could be to do away with oft-times burdensome and time-consuming travel policies and practices. For instance,” he explained, “the company in question might just be starting up, and travel requirements can be of the spur-of-the-moment, utmost-importance variety.
“In such instances,” he offered, “generating business takes precedence over cost-control. After all, if you’re not generating revenue, there’s really no way to ‘save’ your way to prosperity.”
So, to reiterate, Casto believed: “There are times firms shouldn’t make use of travel-management agency partners… but only when they’re not concerned with controlling the corporation’s purchasing habits and improving service for their business-minded travelers.”
