Orlando –
Microsoft global travel and venue group lead Eric Bailey is BTN's 2015 Travel Manager of the Year. BTN editor-in-chief Elizabeth West
presented the award last night at BTN's
30th annual Travel Manager of the Year reception, where BTN Group editorial
director David Meyer also presented Best Practitioner awards to BP global travel
services procurement manager Lisa Stanford, Fore founder and Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation senior manager of global travel Pam Massey, Cisco Systems
director of global travel Susan Lichtenstein and T-Mobile travel, expense and
card senior manager Robert Jacobsen.
According to West, “Eric Bailey has distinguished himself
time and again for looking critically at technology developments in both the
consumer and the managed travel space and applying these technologies
strategically across Microsoft’s managed travel program. What truly sets Eric
apart from his peers is that—even as a tech guy working for a tech company—he
has recognized that there is a limit to how much technology a travel program
and an individual traveler can tolerate. His efforts to simplify booking
processes and mobile application choices, target a manageable universe of
possibilities to his travelers and create a real sense of community and
knowledge sharing within his program have all been remarkable. But central to
our decision to name Eric as the 2015 Travel Manager of the Year is the fact
that he has not stopped his efforts at the boundaries of his own company."
Bailey has worked with Amadeus to initiate travel bookings
through the Microsoft Outlook calendar, with American Express Global Business Travel to pull rich
itinerary data directly into Outlook calendars and with Tripism to create a
third-party tool that enterprises can use to bring their business travelers
together in a collaboration community. All these collaborations extend the
value of his work to his peers in the travel management industry.
“I asked Eric why he was the man to bring these innovations
to the market, and in his sort of humble way, he laughed and said because he’s
been working on them for seven years,” said West. “But we all know that’s not
the whole truth. Eric has a vision, but to his point, vision is nothing without
persistence and sweat equity. That’s what will drive the next generation of
travel management, and the fact that Eric has worked so hard to achieve it may
make it a little bit easier for the rest of us to do so.”
Best Practitioners
BTN recognized
Stanford for data and compliance management efforts that allowed BP, which
already has a mature airline program, to pursue aggressive airline savings.
Massey received the award for galvanizing a group of nonprofit
organizations to form a benchmarking forum and initiate a consortium buying
strategy for the unique needs of the nonprofit sector.
Lichtenstein opened the door to a new concept in corporate travel
hotel contracts that is based on hotel revenue needs rather than client volume
commitments.
Jacobsen tied travel management to a gamification platform
that not only drives traveler compliance but also supports the overall
sustainability strategy of his organization.
Clarification, July 29, 2015: This report has been updated to reflect the fact that Eric Bailey worked with American Express Global Business Travel, not American Express.