off, many in the TMC community will feel little sympathy for corporates going solo and booking directly online at times when nature takes over, and the same can be said of travel managers with maverick employees who have strayed out of company policy. “For both savings and traveller tracking and security reasons, we’ve seen a significant increase in travel policy compliance,” adds Waller. “Far more policies are being mandated as that’s the only way to achieve those savings.” Anne Godfrey, chief executive of the Guild


of Travel Management Companies, echoes Waller’s comments. “2010 was the year TMCs really proved their value,” she says. “Strike action and natural disasters saw TMCs at their best as they repatriated clients from around the world by whatever route or means their experience and contacts allowed.” Godfrey continues, “The companies which


relied on DIY travel arrangements, with personnel booking direct on the web, discovered that an internet page wasn’t much help in a crisis, and the time spent sorting out the chaos wasn’t worth the few pounds that may or may not have been saved on the ticket price.” TMCs often cite the fact that


the five per cent of a travel budget spent on a TMC’s services is the gateway to the other 95 per cent of travel spend, but only now are some corporates beginning to make sense of that. Even smaller companies who perhaps thought their spend was too small for a TMC are recognising that a TMC is far more than a booking agency – companies across the industry are increasingly exploiting TMCs’ expertise in creating and controlling travel policy and capturing management information. But is being a one-stop-shop still enough? TMCs have evolved in recent years, both in terms of the markets they serve and the services and technology they offer, with their own or white-labelled tools extending to traveller tracking facilities, meeting and events divisions, telepresence booking tools and expense reporting. With specialist suppliers out there, particularly in the hotel booking agency arena, TMCs have upped their game, with some offering hotel inventory not available on the global distribution systems – the key USP of the HBAs out there. “Our hotel inventory is not just what’s on the GDS,” says CWT’s Waller. “We deal with more hotel transactions in a year than any HBA in the country,” he says. “Specialisation has always been the way forward. We often say we’re a number of specialist businesses under one brand. You need to have the ability to cater for your clients’ varying needs.” Also seeking to better identify its offering and


raise awareness of its specialisms is Wings Travel Management. As well as a name change (it was previously known as Wings Corporate Travel) the company has introduced sub-brands representing each of the sectors it specialises in – Wings Offshore Travel, Wings Marine Travel and Wings Corporate Travel. The onset of the recession has also seen a number of big TMCs turn their attention to the under-tapped SME market, preferring not to have all their eggs – in the form of large multinational accounts – in one basket. While some smaller TMCs were cynical about


"Specialisation has always been the way forward. You need to have the ability to cater for your clients’ varying needs"


50 40 30 20 10 50 40 30 20 0 10


their motives, there’s no doubt SMEs are increasingly benefitting from the buying power of the big boys. FCm Travel Solutions, which launched Corporate Traveller to concentrate on clients with annual travel spend of between £5,000 and £1.5million, is one TMC that appears to be doing things right and is currently on track to post 40 per cent growth in turnover, totalling £155million by the end of its financial year in June. It says the growth is down to new clients wins totalling £35million since July last year, but also £2.25million gained by growing existing client portfolios. “Retaining and growing our existing business is a key driver of the Corporate Traveller business model,” says general manager Tom Walley. “Our client relationship managers act as the gate- keeper of customer retention. Their role is to ensure we never lose a customer and constantly look to grow our existing business by seeking to add new divisions, increase our share of land sales and obtain route deals.” Similarly, American Express


Business Travel launched aXcent, HRG intro- duced Simply HRG and Carlson Wagonlit Travel brought in CWT Connect now, all catering to the SME market and typically catering for clients with annual travel spend not exceeding £3million. Some industry observers predicted widespread consolidation across the industry during the depths of the recession, but in fact there’s been very little. “We thought some TMCs would find it tough, and they have,” says Waller, ”but there’s been less consolidation because some are looking for an unrealistic price – a price that was the value of the TMC in the good times but isn’t accurate now.” He continues, “We have no UK TMC acquisitions on the cards and we can’t foresee any. We’re committed to growing organically. On the larger scale, I don’t think there will be any acquisitions for some time yet – the banks have shut their doors on that.” A poll of the TMCs listed on the following pages revealed that the TMC industry is perhaps in better shape than expected, with 44 per cent of respondents declaring 2010 a year of good growth and a further 22 per cent calling


0 50


10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80


0


In general, how proactive are clients in adjusting their travel policies to reign in spend during the recession?


40


10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80


0 30 20 10 0 50 40 30 20 10 0 ➔


Most clients did nothing 6% Most clients made minor changes 39% Most clients made a series of significant changes on their own 13% Most clients approached us to help them tackle their travel policy 42%


TMC SURVEY


AN online poll conducted by The Business Travel Magazine sought the opinions of the travel management companies featured on the following pages, who submitted their views on how they faired in 2010.


Which of the following best describes 2010? 50


40 30 20 10 0


10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80


0


A year of good growth 44% A year of marginal growth 22% A stable year 6% Not as bad as expected 8% A difficult year 17% A total nightmare 3%


What was the biggest issue for you as a TMC in 2010?


10 15 20 25 30 35


0 5


30 20


10 15 20 25 30 35


0 5


10 0


0 5


10 15 20 25 30 35


50 40


The ash cloud crisis 31% The ongoing recession 14% Changing client behaviour 14% Strikes and industrial actions 10% All of the above 31%


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