OP ED: Let Agents In NBTA

In St. Louis the world famous arch stands as a remembrance of the city as a gateway to the frontier West. At NBTA's annual convention there next month, we hope to open up a new area of opportunity by voting to include travel management firms and travel agencies as members for the first time.

A change in the National Business Travel Association's bylaws is proposed to open the door to this segment for "allied membership." Such a change requires a 2/3 vote by direct members, who are travel managers.

This proposal enjoys widespread support within NBTA. In prior votes, it was endorsed by a majority of current members, and has been recommended by a recent unanimous vote of NBTA's board of directors.

Reasons for this broad support are clear:

As a forum for industrywide concerns, NBTA benefits by including all the organizations that interact and affect each other in the business travel world. The association already includes the full range of other travel industry providers, such as allied members--airlines, hotels, car rentals, consultants, technologists and other service providers.

Travel agencies and management firms play a significant role in business travel. They have much to offer in the way of expertise and resources, and they are partners with many corporations in carrying out travel management operations. As a matter of fact, many local NBTA chapters--which are free to determine eligibility as they choose--already include travel agencies or management firms in their membership.

The NBTA board believes this inclusion should be reflected at the national level as well. Without the change, corporations that install their own in-house agencies--and move the travel manager to the agency's payroll--end up losing their NBTA direct membership.

That's not in anyone's interest. The proposed membership change will correct this anomaly and permit long-time NBTA members to remain active in the association, while managing travel operations as they think best.

Travel agencies and management firms will bring strong resources and their own expertise to NBTA's educational program and to our other activities. This can be accomplished without altering the basic mission of NBTA, and without weakening the role of travel managers as direct members.

Travel managers will continue to be the core membership of NBTA. The proposed amendment to the bylaws would not permit agencies or travel management firms to exercise the same voting rights as direct members. Only direct members would be able to vote for changes in bylaws or for at-large members of the board and NBTA officers.

Finally, this proposed change would affect membership at the national association alone. It would have no effect on local chapters, which will remain free to determine their own membership rules.

In short, everyone will benefit. Existing members will gain from a strengthened and more comprehensive association. NBTA will receive greater support, resources and expertise from travel agencies and management firms. And new "allied members" will gain the advantages that come with NBTA membership. Most important of all, it puts all the components of business travel under one association, enabling us to work together more closely to improve travel as a strategic instrument to achieve the goals of our companies.

<I>Judie M.