BTN offers six
small and midsize enterprise travel management tips and six tips for working
with suppliers.
Focus on policy
Controlling
travelers through a well-formed policy can save more than sourcing and
relationships can, said GoldSpring Consulting partner Neil Hammond. But make
sure the policy has support. A key consideration, said TCG Consulting chief
marketing officer Bill Kerr, is whether the travel policy aligns with the
company’s vision. That alignment—or misalignment—will affect buy-in from senior
leadership. “If you’re going in one direction but your corporate objectives are
playing somewhere else, you’re facing an uphill battle.”
Identify better role models
Kerr recommends that
travel managers benchmark their program configuration against similar-size
organizations regardless of industry. “Too many SME businesses focus only on
their two to three direct competitor peers,” he said. “You need to have a blend
of benchmarking peer firms and world-class, similar-structure firms. If you’re
in 10 countries and your peers are only in three or four, there are a lot of
elements of program alignment you’re missing.”
Find the right partners
One obvious resource
for a travel manager is the travel management company—or companies—he or she
works with every day, as well as travel consultants. Hammond also advises
travel managers, especially those wearing multiple hats within their company,
to procure expertise within their own organization from human resources,
finance, security and IT departments. “Let them do some of the work,” he says.
Know what you’re paying for
For those travel
managers looking to get the most out of their TMC relationship(s), Kerr
recommends looking at what exactly is being paid for. “If you’re a high-touch
organization where the culture is not using an online booking tool and your
agency relationship is structured that you’re getting great deals on online
transactions or reporting but your agent calls are out of line, then that can
be a major problem. You’re way overspending on your agency support need.”
Use time and resources wisely
Pick and choose the
areas of your travel program that have a strong return on investment and that
aren’t going to require a lot of ongoing maintenance,” Hammond says. Some
programs, such as a card program with limited spend, may require a lot of
time-consuming maintenance. Being smart about which programs are implemented
can help travel managers use their time and money effectively.
Gather feedback from travelers
Given their smaller
employee bases, SME companies can do a better job of collecting traveler
feedback,” said American Express Global Business Travel hotel practice line
manager Cindy Armitage. “A travel policy is never going to encompass every
employee’s preference, but gathering feedback from frequent travelers can
ensure you select suppliers that will be well received, which can boost program
compliance significantly.”
Limit your number of suppliers
“Small and
midmarket companies have less volume to leverage in hotel supplier
negotiations, so it’s important for companies to consolidate suppliers and
choose one to two instead of four to five. The ability to offer more volume
will help the company reach better deals,” says Armitage.
“When it comes to
airlines, keep it simple. Use off-the-shelf products. Don’t implement a
solution that will look great but will be too complex to set up and manage.
Focus on your top [origin and destination cities],” says Advito senior director and global air
practice leader Olivier Benoit.
Look to independent suppliers
“Independent hotels
want to target the business traveler because there’s more revenue there.
They’re willing to be opportunistic about pricing, whereas the larger chains
have more pricing power. Medium-size or smaller-size travel programs can use
these independent hotels to drive savings for their travel programs,” says Acquis Consulting managing director Eric
Baum.
Build relationships you can maintain
“Choose the
relationships you’re going to be able to support and where you’re going to
leverage strong compliance from your company. With the airline program, choose
suppliers that you’re going to be able to meet their targets, and you’ll find
that the ability to move the share will compensate for a lot of deficiencies on
your program side,” says Hammond.
Focus on value and rewards components
“Focus on the
waivers and the favors, the membership cards and upgrades. I often find in a
lot of relationships, the value components outweigh the discounts that the
company is getting. Companies get more value from flexibility for things like
ticket exchanges and name changes,” says Hammond.
“Enroll in SME
programs from airlines in your key markets and, at minimum, with the dominant
carrier and one low-cost carrier in your home market. By enrolling in SME
programs with such carriers as Lufthansa, British Airways and AirFrance and
KLM, SME’s will benefit from codeshare partners. Doing so can deliver between 3
to 6 percent savings on airfares," says Benoit.
This report originally appeared in the June 1, 2015, issue of Business Travel News.