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The economic recession Business & Diet pubDate article BCD Travel

Cutting travel program fat without the strategic goals

The global economic downturn hit business travel where it hurts: According to a new survey of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), more than 70 percent of U.S. tour operators are planning to spend less on business travel in 2009. The results represent a sharp shift to an earlier ACTE poll (Sept. 2008), who found that only 33 percent of U.S. travel managers plan to cut travel costs in the years to come.

While ACTE survey, primarily in the U.S., the challenges of travel buyers and travel in all sectors of the world. Reducing travel to tightening travel policy, and to renegotiate with suppliers to adjust travel patterns, travel programs, plans to cut interest tours and reduce costs. silver lining in the financial storm clouds, says Kathy Jackson, executive vice president. story highlights:

* Travel buyers and managers already know that the changes that are impossible in the past

* New account managers in understanding and support the client’s business leaders

* Changes to the travel policy, the approval process, traveler behavior leading savings mechanisms for cost-conscious companies

* demand management and online technologies to support key

Global Client Management BCD Travel , the economy, which allows customers to travel on their own team and to change, quite frankly, may never be achieved in the past.

The challenge, adds Jackson, to save on travel expenses, but business: “The difficult than expected, the recession is not forever Companies have to come out of the economic downturn is expected to grow. And solid business relationships with key elements of space travel and the growth and retention. “

Teri Miller, vice president of Global Client Management in the Americas for BCD Travel, sees great potential for the company travel management account executives present situation:” Account Manager must have a deep understanding of customer business leaders who they believe and to add value and do not respond, for example, if a customer close factories in three countries, our account manager to explain how travel patterns will shift as a result of the present. what effect that may in the supply contracts, and design optimization of the potential consequences . “

What steps BCD Corporate Travel clients to combat the recession?

Companies must look beyond the big ticket items, says Jackson, and changes the filter through every aspect of a trip. “It may be tempting to a ticket price, but some programs that make up the air as much as 20 percent of all T & E spending. Client managers, often in an advisory engagement Advito [independent consulting arm of BCD Travel], help customers and the total cost of the trip, including hotel, ground transportation and even restaurant costs. “

The list of decisions in which BCD Travel supports its customers during the recession travel management strategies.

The choices and decisions are made with a great opportunity for companies to maintain a positive change in the travel program, says Jackson. “As with any diet, is the success of the change of a lifestyle, not a 30-day wonder regime”

changes in travel policy

increased corporate cost-consciousness manifests itself primarily in refining and adoption more restrictive travel policy. Among the common cost saving elements BCD Travel looks changing business class, coach class (variations between mandatory coaching class for all travelers regardless of hierarchical level and increase business-class flight threshold), the bottom-level splitting hotels (eg three stars instead of four stars) entrusted with public transport use, rather than a cab, and keep frequent flyer miles on business trips instead of a personal journey.

BCD Travel also increased the attractiveness of rail and low-cost carriers in EMEA, says Felix Vezjak, vice president of Global Client Management EMEA: “Companies are much more inclined to accept the inconveniences we have seen previously (eg, secondary airports ) exchange savings. However, especially in the case of low-cost carriers, companies must ensure that passengers are always the preferred booking channels (online tools and bodies), the choice of an appropriate reporting and security tracking. “

Other suggestions refining and enforcing travel policy , see the February 2009 article “The dependence of compliance.” Changes to travel approval process

Become institutionalized formal approval process, where you can not have existed, or – often – so existing processes more stringent cost saving method to gain broad public support for BCD Travel corporate clients than just a “quick win.”

As part of an overall reduction in travel expenses efforts, a BCD Travel global customers, with more than US0 million in annual travel costs and more than 325,000 employees worldwide, has changed the travel approval process radically to incorporate the following:

# no travel, not authorized by the Vice President is the only way (<150, the company VPS)

# No last minute trip (the seven-day advance purchase) has not been approved by a vice president (<15 EVPs in the company)

demand management (travel reduction or travel freeze)

More and more companies now see the demand as one of their greatest ability to control or reduce costs, but that the overall business objectives and requirements

among the possible measures to help companies reduce travel demand:.

# Remove the non-client related travel

# Freeze part of the industry conventions and conferences

A BCD Travel customers refer to the internal meetings of the “mother of all trips,” and has implemented the following methods to reduce the travel they generate:

# for video / web conferencing for internal meetings

# to reduce the number of meeting participants (participants must be on the agenda)

# Require meetings planned around the voyage, and not vice versa

# end hotel nights before and after the meetings

# Choose a meeting place of the total cost, including travel and staff time

pubDate travel management companies in the training and resources for staff

BCD Travel has played an important role in several major clients in the education of travelers and tour operators in the various topics on how to improve their capacity to support business savings initiatives. Some clients, BCD Travel account is provided workshop sessions for trips booked, for others the company has created “Tips and Tricks” document cost savvy travel that clients be made available to visitors.

Some customers may experience had to cope with internal redundancy, which is the loss of key personnel to travel professionals. In a recent, after the departure of travel management, BCD Travel was able to dedicate a resource that role. Account Manager is supported by the implemented client analysis predicted further cuts in front-line adoption unit. This redundancy written into the 2009 budget. increased use of online tools

In order to save on transaction costs and streamline processes, companies are increasingly compelling. that all domestic or point-to-point travel reservations online Online tools also play an important role in supporting the changes in travel policy and traveler behavior, says Miller: “Companies will change booking tools to ask travelers to the need of a journey or provide alternatives to it before you book a trip. “

consolidation program

In the end, says Jackson, a severe economic downturn is the” carrot “for companies that have been looking to consolidate travel services regionally or globally, “Consolidation Services is a multi-country multi-service center, for example, do not represent a significant savings in capital and process costs. However, companies must ensure that the organization is prepared to fully support the consolidation in order to fully realize the benefits . This means that questions such as:? “There is a consistent travel policy in place that spans the markets there are language barriers, which are met by the service center ?’”

About the author

BCD Travel is your all-inclusive corporate travel agency offering competitive ongoing business travel solutions to businesses across Australia. We are more than just a travel company that organized the conference to coordinate, encourage and support staff to plan personal holiday destination in the world.