AirPlus Study: Central Billing Is Best
Travel managers using a central billing system generally are satisfied that it's a better option than the alternatives, according to a report released by AirPlus International today.
AirPlus, an Alexandria, Va.-based payment system provider, commissioned the research on the needs of procurement managers, CFOs and travel managers though Partnership Travel Marketing LLC and Edgar, Dunn & Company late last year. More than 55 percent of 157 respondents are using a central billing system.
More than three-quarters of central-billing users said it's a better option than the alternatives, according to the white paper. Only 4 percent said it's a somewhat worse option, and 20 percent said it was the same. Midsize companies were the most enthusiastic, with 70 percent saying central billing is "much better" compared with 49 percent overall.
The top praise respondents had for central billing was that it was a better fit for the size of the company. Customer service, global acceptance, the richness of data the system provides and ease of implementation followed close behind. Travel managers also were highly pleased with reporting capabilities and such rewards as travel points and rebates with the systems, the white paper reported.
Richard Crum, president and CEO of AirPlus, said the satisfaction level is a result of the business environment. Companies are looking for more transparency to comply with federal Sarbanes-Oxley regulations as well as more security, he said, and central billing providers such as AirPlus are positioned to provide for those needs.
"Companies are finding that if they can get central billing with a ghost card for air, it drives people to a central booking source," Crum said. "Once you've done that, you're already going to have a higher level of compliance."
The paper also indicated the features travel managers look for in payment systems. The top feature, which 97 percent of respondents said was important, is sufficient detail to accurately reconcile reports. Crum said suppliers have improved reconciliation ability, which he said is a large reason for the high satisfaction levels and is bringing many businesses that abandoned a central billing system in the past back to it.
More than 90 percent of those business travel buyers who responded to the survey also wanted a timeline for customized reports, user-friendly navigational interface, the ability to get centralized data and access to the reports online in their systems. Other highly rated features included an ability to track historical data both overall and individually, report customization such as by department and integration with corporate accounting.