Menkes's PTC Joins With Corporate Solutions Group On Hotel Solutions
Former corporate travel buyer and Eos Airlines executive Andrew Menkes' recently reborn travel management consulting firm Partnership Travel Consulting today announced an agreement with The Corporate Solutions Group to sell hotel analytics and commission collections services from provider Hotel Solutions directly to corporations.
In May, ARC introduced a new participation status using Hotel Solutions to provide travel buyers with a better view of hotel bookings and commissions as part of their Corporate Reservation Service Provider identification program, which gives corporations their own ARC number specifically to identify and reconcile commissions for hotel bookings without the use of its agency or a Corporate Travel Department designation.
Robert Langsfeld, Hotel Solutions president, developed the concept for ARC. "The structure was out there for it. The configuration wasn't," Langsfeld said.
Having the data integrated allows companies to compare booked data against their own hotel programs and conduct negotiated rate loading accuracy audits, Langsfeld said.
"It's a significant opportunity to do a pre-trip audit, and there can be more savings there than in commission collection," Langsfeld said. "If it was booked through an agent, it's the only time you're going to be able to verify whether you're getting the correct rates and also verify that there's not a better rate available at that property or at a nearby property."
About a half-dozen corporations are using Hotel Solutions, which enables the passing of hotel commission payments directly to corporations without first passing through a travel management company's home office, according to Menkes, who now owns part of Hotel Solutions.
Separately, PTC signed a bilateral consulting agreement with Sirius Management Limited, a U.K.-based consultancy founded by former Institute of Travel Management chairman Tom Stone, to work on global client projects by providing consulting services in their respective regions.