<B>Riener Leads RFP Express</B>
Industry veteran John Riener has been named president and CEO of RFP Express Inc., a San Diego-based firm that works with travel managers and hotel companies to facilitate the yearly request for proposals process.
RFP Express earlier this year underwent a reorganization and Riener was recruited to develop the new structure and move the firm forward. "Throughout my travel management career, whether at American Express, Gelco Travel or Carlson Travel, I've been a strong believer in new technology, whatever form it took at the time," Riener said. "Consequently, this is an excellent opportunity for me to put that commitment into practice once again."
During his American Express tenure, Riener rose to CEO of the Travel Management Services unit, also serving at different times as CEO of the corporate card and money order divisions. He was CEO of Gelco in 1986 when it was acquired by the Carlson Cos. Prior to joining RFP Express, Riener was working outside the travel arena as CEO of Melbourne, Fla.-based Terion Inc., a wireless communications startup in the transportation area.
At RFP Express, Riener said, "Our basic mission is to develop Web-based technology that will help travel managers to automate the RFPs so it's as time-efficient as possible." Submitting RFPs electronically "empowers travel managers by allowing them to communicate and negotiate with a much wider range of hotels than they would otherwise," he said. "Hotels, meanwhile, are empowered to make knowledge of their properties available to many more potential customers than would have been possible before." Hotels also benefit by "ending up with a kind of virtual salesforce," Riener said, "and having the opportunity to bid on business they wouldn't have otherwise."
Riener actively supports the new modular approach to electronic hotel RFPs that the National Business Travel Association introduced in February. "That everyone in the industry accepts the NBTA format as a standard is good," he said. RFP Express expects to support both the new and old NBTA versions this year in the RFP process that culminates in the negotiation of rates for 2002. "Eventually, the old format will disappear as buyers come to appreciate how streamlined the modular approach is," he said.
In terms of the annual process, Riener noted that his appointment was particularly timely. "Some of the large companies we work with are beginning the process this month, which used to be considered early," he said. "August is typically when the activity really heats up." The present downturn in the economy, which has caused many companies to tighten travel budgets, also makes the timing fortuitous. "More companies that manage their travel are moving beyond airlines to focus on hotel as well," he said. "It may be harder for buyers to get their arms around hotel, but once they do it, the potential savings are significant. Achieve even a 10 percent savings on the hotel spend and that can be a big number." Developing RFPs is the logical place to start. "Not just Fortune 1000 companies can benefit from doing RFPs," he said.