Partnership Travel Consulting has developed a Web-based tool for travel buyers to rate, rank and review suppliers in an effort to create a database that can be used to benchmark and track performance.
About three dozen travel buyers with a combined travel volume of more than $1 billion began testing Travel Supplier Index in January, according to PTC CEO Andrew Menkes. The index also has been presented to the National Business Travel Association Allied Leadership Council for supplier feedback.
Next week, the tool will be available to all National Business Travel Association buyer members free of charge for two years. PTC is offering Association of Corporate Travel Executives buyer members a 25 percent discount on the annual fee of $495. Subscription renewal is $295 per year. PTC requires users to list their location, industry and total T&E spend in $1 million increments.
The concept is similar to the NBTA Managed Travel Index internal benchmarking tool developed by PTC in 2005
(BTNonline, April 23, 2007). NBTA funded some of the supplier index's development. Menkes would not disclose the amount.
The index currently has ranking applications for airports, airlines, car rental companies, hotels, online booking tools and travel management companies. Corporate card, chauffeured car and payment system applications are in development, according to Menkes. Dashboard-style reporting applications will be released once the database reaches $1 billion. Report generation integrates with Google Maps and can be pulled on a city, state, country or regional basis.
Metrics include supplier sales team effectiveness, account management, data reporting, senior management accessibility, and request-for-proposals process ratings. Worldwide airline data are presented for flights of less than and more than four hours. Hotel evaluations can go to the property level and measure factors including rate implementation, pricing competitiveness and rate value. Travel management company rankings can be broken down to the department level and regions, measuring such factors as technology, communications and reporting timeliness. Buyers also can rate the top 100 domestic and international airports for categories including public transportation accessibility, security efficiency and wireless Internet capabilities.
Menkes said the index, which has been in development for six months, would add multiple languages and currencies this summer.
PTC also is developing an internal survey and evaluation add-on tool designed for corporate travelers to rate, rank and review their company's preferred supplier programs and make recommendations.