Business Professionalism, Compensation Keep Climbing

<B>Business Professionalism, Compensation Keep Climbing</B>

By Erika S. Warcholak

Business travel management continues to be a profession on the rise, as evidenced by Business Travel News' latest annual sampling of travel managers' salaries and attitudes.

In the span of the past decade, travel managers' salaries have grown 89.7 percent, so this year's healthy 15 percent boost--in the grand scheme of things--was neither the largest nor smallest of salary increases. Experiencing consistent growth, both in responsibilities as well as salaries, this year's travel managers reported an average salary of $66,400, compared with the $35,000 reported in 1990. Meanwhile, the ranks of those earning between $60,000 and $80,000 swelled perceptibly.

Yes, travel managers are working hard and, for the most part, feeling appreciated--though apparently there's ample room for more recognition. Interestingly, though most of the 496 travel professionals BTN surveyed this year feel they are adequately compensated, bonuses seem to be falling by the wayside. Compared with last year, the number of travel managers who are able to earn bonuses dropped significantly, by 16 percent, but the fact that overall compensations have continued to rise suggests that companies are more concerned about retaining skilled professionals than incentivizing their performance.

Also, as in years past, the millennial year was a tangled web of challenges. It was one of soaring air travel costs amidst diminished commission fees, and globalization amidst consolidation and merger mania. In addition to undertaking the formidable tasks that come along with this changing travel environment and colossal corporate endeavors, travel managers saw, and often were instrumental in, an even larger focus on technology and an explosion of new products.

New vendors and tools came online, literally, touting more efficiency and cost savings--music to executives' ears. Yet, the products required much promotion and training, taking up a considerable amount of travel management professionals' time. As such, travel managers, becoming even more aware of how technology would affect their careers, forged ahead with the knowledge that education is key. In fact, of the 19 percent of travel managers reporting "much greater opportunity" in their fields, 72 percent attributed that to advancing travel technology, which required specific expertise. Conversely, those without training (28 percent) reported a decrease in opportunity and 79 percent reported that opportunity has decreased because of corporate outsourcing--often a result of travel professionals' lack of technological know-how.

As further testament to tech's importance to the industry and, more significantly, to travel managers' pocketbooks, of the 51 percent reporting to be "well-versed" in tech, 57 percent earn more than $50,000 and more than half of them earn more than $90,000. (Of the 5 percent not using tech, only five earn more than $70,000.)

Perhaps also related to burgeoning travel technology capabilities, the majority of travel buyers expressed concern over the stability of their profession, with 44 percent believing corporations will seek alternatives to employing travel managers in the next two years. Fully one-third, however, were optimistic, believing corporations will hire more travel managers.

To clarify, while this year's survey yielded 496 responses from people employed in travel management, not everyone holds the title of travel manager. Respondents' titles are diverse, and are broken down as follows: 51 percent are travel managers/supervisors, 20 percent are travel specialists/advisors/coordinators, 10 percent are meeting/conference planners/coordinators, 5 percent are meeting managers/supervisors, 4 percent are travel vice presidents/directors and 4 percent are purchasing/transportation managers. For the purpose of this survey, "travel manager" applies to respondents with the titles of travel manager, supervisor, travel vice president or director only. The entire universe of these and all others are referred to as "buyers."

On average, the travel managers in this survey are 45.7 years old with 10.5 years of experience. Although their salaries continue to fall below their male colleagues, female travel managers still dominate the profession, with 72 percent of the market.

<B>Fewer Bonuses In The Packages</B>





The number of travel professionals who can earn bonuses is dropping: Only one-third of this year's travel managers reported that they are able to earn bonuses, 16 percent less than last year. Of all buyers, 71 percent are unable to earn bonuses, increasing from 60 percent in 1999. For those who still can earn bonuses, the primary incentive continued to be cost savings/avoidance, with more than 59 percent reporting that to be the number-one criterion, compared with 48 percent last year. The same percentage of respondents as last year, 29 percent, reported "traveler satisfaction" also to be among the top five criteria.





<B>Most Bonuses Are Under 10 Percent</B>





Nearly one-quarter of the travel managers who can earn bonuses said their bonuses were only 1 percent to 5 percent of their salaries. On average, travel managers received a 5.6 percent bonus, which means about $3,700 of the reported average annual compensation is bonus-related. The percentage of travel buyers with bonuses exceeding 10 percent of their salaries was in the teens.





<B>Raises Take A Dip</B>





Getting a raise used to be a standard expectation, yet a significant number of travel professionals reported no change in their compensation from last year. The percentage of buyers reporting no change, in fact, has increased this year to 21 percent from 15 percent in 1999. About 15 percent of travel managers also reported no change in annual compensation. On average, however, salaries did increase 5.4 percent for travel managers and 4.7 percent for buyers (compared with 5.5 percent in 1999). The majority of travel managers, 36 percent, reported a change between 3 percent and 4 percent, while 15 percent claimed changes of less than 3 percent, and an equal percentage claimed changes of 5 percent to 6.9 percent. Only 3 percent of travel managers received increases of above 20 percent.

Regionally, travel managers in the West saw the biggest growth, a 6.5 percent increase, compared with 4.8 percent and 5.3 percent increases in the eastern and central regions, respectively. Male travel managers continued to gain on their female colleagues, earning a 6.2 percent increase in salary, while their female counterparts earned 5.1 percent. Rising in proportion to annual salaries, travel managers who earned more than $90,000 received salary increases of 8.2 percent, while those earning less than $40,000 saw only a 2.9 percent increase.

Buyers in general followed the same trend as travel managers, with those located in the West seeing greater increases than those in the eastern and central regions: 5.8 percent, compared with 4.7 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. Male buyers increased their salaries by 5.3 percent, compared with the 4.5 percent growth experienced by female buyers. And buyers in the $90,000+ bracket increased their salaries by 7.9 percent, as opposed to the 2.8 percent growth for buyers in the less than $40,000 category.

<B>Western Men Continue To Finish Ahead Of The Pack</B>





The trend toward travel buyers in the West earning more than their counterparts elsewhere in the United States continues, as does the trend for male travel professionals to earn more than their female colleagues.

On average, travel managers located in the West earned $72,600 in 2000, compared with $68,600 and $62,600 in the eastern and central regions--a $4,000 and $10,000 difference, respectively.

Regarding the salary differential between the sexes, 15 percent more men than women earn more than $90,000, though the disparity between those earning under $40,000 is less: Only 3 percent more women than men fall into that category.





<B>Crystal Ball: Salary Growth</B>





Though 15 percent of all travel managers reported no increase in their salaries this year, they remain optimistic. More than half believe that salaries will increase next year and only 2 percent believe salaries will decrease next year. Still, almost two-fifths foresee salaries hitting a plateau next year.

<B>Pleased With Paychecks</B>





Travel managers generally feel duly recognized for their job efforts in the paycheck department, though the gap between the satisfied and dissatisfied is small. Nearly 54 percent are contented with their compensation; 46 percent are not. Those earning higher salaries, of course, felt more adequately paid, with only 17 percent of those earning $90,000+ not happy with their paychecks. Those with salaries of less than $40,000--67 percent--predominantly were not pleased with their compensation.





<B>Taking On Even More...</B>





Senior managers continue to take on more responsibility. Compared with 1999, 8 percent more travel managers took on agency negotiation, car rental and hotel, and 4 percent stepped up to the air plate, bringing the percentage of those responsible for these areas to 92 percent, 97 percent, 97 percent and 98 percent, respectively.

The percentage of those responsible for several areas that many travel managers have expected to increase showed a decline from last year. Those responsible for leisure travel decreased 5 percentage points this year and GDS selection responsibility diminished 8 percentage points. Another responsibility that was not increased this year was electronic expense reporting, though 23 percent more respondents expect to get their hands on that area by 2002.

About one-quarter of travel managers expect to take responsibility in the next two years for the intranet travel site, e-booking, meeting planning and e-expense reporting.

<B>Opportunity Is Growing, Slightly</B>





Less than one-fifth of this year's respondents said that the travel management profession provides much greater opportunity than in 1998, a significant decrease from then, when one-quarter believed so. In fact, the number this year, 19 percent is more comparable to the percentage four years ago, when it was 18 percent.

On the flip side, however, nearly half of respondents (49.5 percent) believe their profession offers "somewhat greater opportunity" than two years ago. Slightly more than one-fifth reported no change in opportunity, while 8 percent reported somewhat less.

The good news is that less than 1 percent claimed there is "much less opportunity" present today in the travel industry than there was two years ago.





<B>Finance Tops Report List</B>





M ore of this year's respondents report to finance than any other department. The largest group of those earning more than $70,000, 41 percent of travel managers, reported to finance. Still, 30 percent of those reporting to the same department earned under $40,000.

The next largest group of travel managers earning more than $70,000 report to purchasing.

Meanwhile, there has been a clear decline in the number of travel buyers reporting to administrative departments.





<B>2002 Travel Odyssey</B>





As evidence of travel managers' satisfaction with their jobs and their employers, nearly three-quarters of the respondents foresee a future with their current employers, whether it be in the same position (43 percent) or a promotion in the same field (29 percent). Conversely, about 15 percent anticipate a job and/or position change with another employer.

<B>Pace Of Change Tops TM Concerns</B>





Not surprising in this ever-changing industry, priorities also are a-changing. Whereas in 1999, senior management support, opportunities for advancement, stress/workload and pace of industry topped the list of concerns of travel managers hoping to climb the corporate ladder, this year's concerns centered on the pace of industry change. More than triple the number of 1999 respondents notched this area as their primary concern this year, with the next two in line reflecting that same worry.

Travel managers are more determined to keep up with the pace of industry change, which now focuses on technology, and, in doing so, aim to vault up that corporate ladder. The number of respondents noting opportunity for advancement as another major worry more than doubled from 20 percent in 1999 to 49 percent this year. Concern over senior management support dropped to the fourth priority this year; sliding into its former third position is education/training, with nearly seven times the takers as last year--47 percent versus 7 percent, respectively. Education and training topped the list of concerns for travel buyers as a whole.





<B>Majority Of Managers Would Consider A Job Change</B>





Though more than 50 percent of travel managers feel adequately compensated and nearly 75 percent foresee a future with their current employer, still, 36 percent reported much more willingness than two years ago to change jobs and 20 percent said they were somewhat willing. Nearly 33 percent of buyers in general said they are more willing to change jobs now than previously.

Across the salary gap, that number remained the same. Unsurprisingly, those travel managers earning top dollar are much less likely to change jobs--in fact, 50 percent less--than those with smaller paychecks, compared with 1999.

<B>A Quick Glimpse At The Y2K Travel Mgr.</B>





Overall, travel managers at the top of the game continue to be 50-year-old men, who are more educated and work for larger companies than their colleagues with smaller paychecks. Females still form the majority in the lower-paid salary brackets, where the average age is 43.6 years old and the company has an annual air volume of $7.4 million.

There is a marked difference in salaries between the higher educated and those without: Twenty-seven percent of those falling into the highest salary bracket furthered their education.