CTD Growing In Popularity

<B>CTD Growing In Popularity</B>

By Megan Hjermstad

With 76 Airlines Reporting Corp.-accredited Corporate Travel Departments already and 60 companies starting the process as of March, the number of CTDs continues to grow at a slow and steady pace.

While there has not been a spike in the number of CTDs, there has been a change in the size of companies that are taking on the designation. More large corporations with sizable air spends recently have received ARC accreditation, among them American Management Systems and Chevron, which last year reported a U.S. booked air volume of $50 million.

"Larger companies have to go through more hierarchy to make a change. The transition time is longer," said Jeannine Rehel, ARC manager of corporate travel department and electronic commerce.

Andy Menkes, president of Partnership Travel Consulting Inc. in Princeton, N.J., said the change has made a difference from a psychological standpoint. "It validates the CTD program in that it is not limited to small companies," he said.

PricewaterhouseCoopers in October became the first company with a large travel spend to receive CTD accreditation, but has not yet begun ticketing under its number (BTN, Oct. 30, 2000). "We are still working on it and still investigating how to use the designation," said Mark Williams, Americas travel leader for PwC.

It is a challenge for companies to determine how to use the CTD designation because it allows for many different operating models. "It is not as much about getting the CTD, but what am I going to do when I get it?" said Tammy Troilo, president of Ohio-based Troilo & Associates.

The concept, which already gives companies the ability to outsource or insource as many or as few services as desired, may become an even more flexible option. Although companies currently must ticket on the premises of the corporation, ARC at the request of corporations and agencies is considering allowing ticketing to be done on the premises of an agency. The recommendation is going to the ARC board of directors for a decision in June.

"It will be a twist for some corporations that like the CTD model but don't have office space for head count," said ARC's Rehel. "It will give agencies another niche in the CTD model."

Menkes agreed that the ability to outsource the physical location will offer more flexibility. "With the ARC appointment held virtually at the corporation but physically at the agency, it will have that much more appeal to a broad base of companies," he said.

San Francisco-based Chevron, which in March received its accreditation, intends to follow the outsourcing model by continuing to have its agency, Rosenbluth International, handle primary functions, such as reservations and reporting offsite. The company is looking to begin using its unique ARC identifier June 11. "There is a perception that with the CTD you have to bring everything in-house and hire all the people. We wouldn't have done it if that were the case," said Nancy Godfrey, global travel manager for Chevron. As such, the CTD is not a big change, but "it does change our relationship with the agency--we're asking to take more charge of information," said Godfrey. She said it is likely that Chevron will rebid its agency later this year, following its pending merger with Texaco, and may change the configuration then. "We may have more of a fulfillment situation," said Godfrey.

Fairfax, Va.-based information technology consulting firm American Management Systems in November received accreditation and has been bringing operations in-house, transitioning from the agency and converting its GDS contract. Travel counselors became employees of AMS in December and began ticketing under the company's identifier in January. AMS no longer is using its previous agency, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and the only third party it has partnered with is an independent emergency travel service that it has been using while preparing for the CTD move.

Hutchinson said bringing everyone in-house worked for AMS because its 65 percent adoption of online booking allowed it to drop from 24 to 11 agents.