McCord Program Targets Meeting Air-Only Needs

<B>McCord Program Targets Meeting Air-Only Needs</B>

By Chris Davis

In what is probably the first third-party group product borne from airline commission cuts, McCord Group Travel Services has launched a boilerplate program to handle arrangements for corporate meetings that necessitate only air arrangements.

Under the program that debuted last month, Chicago-based McCord will charge a flat per-transaction fee, usually between $30 and $40, to analyze city pairs to help choose the most cost-effective destinations; negotiate air contracts using zone fares or McCord's guaranteed fares, and necessary upgrades and complimentary tickets; match arrival and departure lists to hotel booking lists; and dedicate staffers to handle bookings.

McCord is targeting corporations whose in-house planners, or other meeting management companies, handle all ground arrangements but have complex air needs, said Scott Graf, McCord GTS vice president and general manager.

"We think that whether you've got 200 people flying to London or 5,000 to San Francisco, either our zone fares or specialty meetings fares, plus the transaction charges, still will be much better than anything you can get yourself, particularly when you consider the effect of latecomers on total air spend," Graf said.

Before the introduction of the program, dubbed Group Air Express, McCord GTS, if it accepted air-only business, would craft a unique solution for each meeting with no guarantee that the corporate client would accept its proposal. Even if they did, the reduced airline commissions caused by cuts during the past several years, or fees paid by corporations with net carrier contracts, rarely convinced travel management companies to take on that type of business.

"There are few travel management companies or agencies that would say yes to air-only group business because of the lack of profitability," Graf said. "We could keep the measly commissions or we could charge an increased net fee, which nobody wants to pay. But standard pricing allows us to accept this business without reservation and dedicate staff members to processing reservations."

Graf said McCord initially will offer the service to its existing transient and meeting clients, but hopes positive word-of-mouth will spread, particularly to corporations that have large, complex incentive meetings, such as automotive, insurance and pharmaceutical corporations.

The transaction costs assume paperless ticketing and e-mail or faxed confirmations. Deviations likely will increase the program's cost.