Op-Ed: Best Wishes For A Better Year In The Year Ahead

As we approach the new year, I thought this would be a good time for our colleagues to reflect on what we can do to improve the industry as a whole. Perhaps one way to approach the new year is with a wish list (I'll take 10) and/or set of resolutions that will enhance the business travel industry as a whole.

Below is my top 10 wish list, in no particular order, so I've chosen to go the alphabetical route.

I am closing my eyes and wishing for the following in the new year:



Airlines

I wish the airlines a healthy financial New Year, but implore them to provide Web fares to their best corporate customers via the global distribution systems, even if the pricing for that service has to be adjusted. (See GDSs below.)



Airports

I wish the airports could find a way to recognize the need to expedite the checkin process for business travelers, even if there is a higher cost to the end-user. We have the "Fast Track" program in Europe; I wish we could bring an equivalent version for checkin here in the United States.



Associations

I wish that our major industry associations could find a way to collaborate instead of compete for what is clearly a shrinking market and shrinking pool of funds. We should be able to address the educational needs of the entry-level professional, who may have been in purchasing for years, as well as the seasoned global travel manager.



Automated Booking Systems

I have two concurrent wishes here: I wish the automated booking systems could produce international pricing/booking capabilities in a multilingual environment.



Car Rental Companies

I wish the car rental companies could provide real-time data (as close as possible) to their corporate clients, for both global distribution system and direct bookings. I also wish that city surcharges would disappear, but that would be two wishes.



CFOs

I wish that chief financial officers could recognize that you can reduce the cost of a travel program by increasing compliance and consolidation of channels.



GDSs

I wish the global distribution systems could provide more than just inventory, as they've done for two decades. We are at a point now where the consumer, via the Internet, has more resources than the travel agent.



Hotels

I wish that local properties would not try to undermine a global program by negotiating a special rate that can "only be booked by the local client office." I wish that the request for proposal was a one-page document for renewals, but that is another second wish.



Travel Management Companies

I wish that the travel management companies could attain sufficient profitability to invest in both human resources and technology to provide a better service to their clients. The travel agencies have been assured of profits via fees; the clients need to be assured of consistently improving service levels and technology.



Travel Managers

I wish that senior management recognized the value of travel managers in the overall operation of any business. As part of that wish, once a year, each travel manager should have the opportunity to present the travel program benefits to the senior officers of their company.

Clearly, if I had only one wish, it would be for the health and safety of all of us in the travel industry, both as users and providers.

If I had more than the 10 wishes above, I would wish that each of you could have your own list of 10 wishes that would come true.

Happy New Year!

Andrew W. Menkes is CEO and chairman of Princeton, N.J.based travel management consulting firm Partship Travel Consultig Inc.