A certification program for travel management consultants, a
forum for matching entrepreneurs and investors and an index aimed at tracking
travel trends against economic indicators are among a wide range of initiatives
that were announced by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives at its
global conference in Berlin on earlier this month. ACTE also launched a
university-accredited learning program in 18 countries and an award scheme to
recognize emerging talent.
The consultant certification program, Consultants Corner,
will be introduced in the first quarter of 2011. Executive director Ron DiLeo
and president Chris Crowley said it would assess consultants on their product
knowledge in an attempt to bring standardization to an area of corporate travel
with little consistency at present. ACTE has a database of 500 consultants in
20 countries. However, Crowley said ACTE is not attempting to impose conformity
of methodologies upon consultants. "We're not trying to over-regulate,"
he said. Although certification would be based in part upon content knowledge,
the emphasis will be on helping corporate buyers compare charging
structures—for which ACTE will create a recommended fee structure, return on
investment models and contract wording. Consultants also would have to complete
an ethical questionnaire.
DiLeo said the certification would enable ACTE to provide a
list of consultants from which buyers can choose and help consultants with
their marketing and pitching skills. "ACTE gets half a dozen calls a week
asking for consultant recommendations," he said.
DiLeo also said the "angels" website, planned for
launch in Q2 of 2011, would be the first one specifically designed to help
travel entrepreneurs find investors. He added that investors are often wary of
travel because they regard it as an inherently unstable market, but he expects
investors from both outside and inside the sector, such as global distribution
system companies, to take an interest.
Meanwhile, the ACTE Index, expected to launch in either
November or December, will track monthly responses from 200 buyer members to up
to 10 simple questions, such as whether travel spend is rising or falling.
DiLeo said previous research carried out by the travel management company
Rosenbluth International, now part of American Express, showed correlations
between, for example, a business' travel spend and its stock price. "I
think we'll be able to draw real correlations [with economic indicators] in 12
months," he said.
A survey of an unspecified number of ACTE buyer members
published this month found that 70 percent in the United States and 64 percent
in Europe anticipate greater travel spend in 2011.
This is the first ACTE global conference since the National
Business Travel Association announced its decision to rename itself the Global
Business Travel Association. Crowley said there is enough room, and supplier
sponsorship, for two worldwide organizations. "There is not such a narrow
band of suppliers that we have to hunt for the same shilling in every
marketplace," he said.
ACTE said there more than 800 delegates attended the Berlin
conference, of whom 301 were buyers.
This report appeared
in the Oct. 25 issue of Business Travel News.