Runzheimer: 2005 Travel Expenses To Rise 10 PercentRunzheimer International last month forecast overall travel expenses will be up 10 percent in 2005, with air, lodging, meal and car expenses all expected to increase. The travel management consulting and benchmarking firm said overall air spend will be up 5 percent. "We expect air travel volume to rise by 10 percent, but the pricing impact of low-cost carrier fares as well as competition between the major carriers will result in only a 5 percent expense increase," the firm stated. Lodging is expected to see the biggest hike as spend is expected to be 13 percent higher than this year, given expected higher prices and more occupancy. Meanwhile, the firm said car rental spend will be up 6 percent and meals will spike by 10 percent.
Demand Strengthens Hotels' Hand At Negotiating TableCitigroup Smith Barney analyst Michael Rietbrock said an increase in corporate transient demand over the summer has resulted in hotels beginning to see more profits from rate hikes than simply occupancy gains. On the meetings side, higher-paying groups are replacing lower-rated ones, said JP Morgan Chase's Harry Curtis. Deluxe and upper upscale hotels are the beneficiaries of the shift as are downturn versus suburban locations. Among hotel companies, this mostly benefits Marriott International, Hilton Hotels Corp. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the multi-brand majors with which buyers are most likely to negotiate chainwide deals. In rate negotiations, buyers also are likely to face more resistance in bargaining at the property level with airport hotels. The jump in corporate travel has translated into more demand at these mostly midprice hotels, driving late-August revenue per available room up almost 10 percent over a year ago.
CWT Rolls Out Global Reporting Tool, Thins HierarchyCarlson Wagonlit Travel is deploying its Discovery reporting tool so that by the beginning of next year it will have a common global reporting tool. Such global integration is a primary focus of Hubert Joly, president and CEO of Carlson Wagonlit Travel Worldwide since July. Late last month, Joly and Jack O'Neill, chief operating officer for North America, took on new duties following the resignation of Robin Schleien as president of Carlson Wagonlit Travel North America. Schleien will serve as a consultant until he leaves at the end of October. "It was Robin's decision to step down," O'Neill said. "He got Carlson Wagonlit Travel back from the brink. Personally, I went to CWT with the complete expectation that we'd be partners." Now O'Neill is responsible for all U.S. and Canadian customers and employees. Joly, who plans to spend about half of his time in the United States, assumes the rest of Schleien's duties. "With Robin's departure, we have the opportunity to thin out the organization and keep it lean," O'Neill said, "while globalizing the company more, and pulling together the sensible shared services."
Meetings Tech Cos. PlanSoft, SeeUthere MergeMeetings technology firms SeeUthere Technologies and PlanSoft Inc. last week merged into a new company called OnVantage, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. The new company is split into two divisions. One, operating out of SeeUthere's Santa Clara base, will focus on serving corporate clients. The other will concentrate on the supplier market and operate out of PlanSoft's Twinsburg, Ohio, home. The all-stock transaction was billed as a merger of equals. SeeUthere CEO and president John Chang will serve as CEO. SeeUthere COO Stanley Chin will lead the corporate division.
Radius Taps Amadeus In Pursuit Of Multinational BusinessGlobal travel management company Radius last week said it had selected Amadeus to provide a common technology platform for its Business Development group. Member agencies, which in the United States include Northwestern Travel Management, Travel & Transport and TraveLeaders, "can now compete for major corporate customers, globally," said Radius president and CEO Tony Hughes. "Shared multinational business for Radius shareholders will have the front office booking tool, the Radius Wheel quality-control
(BTN, Aug. 16), mid-office and reporting all sitting on a common GDS." Gillian Gibson, vice president of the Amadeus multinational customer group, said the company customized certain tools "to be specific to Radius' processes" and that the platform can integrate mid-office technology from either TRX—currently used by Radius—or Amadeus' own product, Global Max. TQ3 Navigant last month said it selected Global Max for further back-office consolidation, doubling the business of the current contract between the two companies and upgrading Navigant acquisition Sato Travel to the latest version of Global Max.