The Knowledge > Buyer perspective
Are in-house travel managers A THING OF THE PAST?
Peter Macey of MDDUS asks whether in-house travel managers have outlived their usefulness or if they still have a future
Peter Macey FACILITIES AND CENTRAL PURCHASING OFFICER, THE MEDICAL AND DENTAL DEFENCE UNION OF SCOTLAND After a full career in the British Army, Peter joined the MDDUS and helped set up a successful business travel operation which he manages and runs single- handedly. He has become something of an expert in the SME market, speaking at a variety of events nationwide, and is a member of the ITM.
IN THEORY, the idea of a company still having an in-house travel manager seems like a thing of the past. Business travel is moving further and further towards the technological age with the use of online booking systems and e-ticketing for all areas of travel. Travel decisions seem increasingly to be in the in the hands of the traveller, quite literally. I flew from Glasgow to London recently and used my HTC phone to show the airline my boarding passes for both inbound and outbound journeys, an e-ticket for the Heathrow Express and even just showed the receptionist my phone to indicate my booking reference upon arrival at my hotel. There is nothing wrong with any
of this technology provided all travellers are comfortable in its use – but not all companies do employ exclusively Generation X and Y employees who are. I have been a travel manager for
the MDDUS for ten years now and I recall in the early days that some of my older travellers were none too keen on e-tickets for flights. Thankfully, in those days I was able
to request paper tickets at no cost from airlines and used paper tickets on the Heathrow Express too. Today, a large percentage of employees are techno-savvy but still prefer paper- based back-up. I still give to my travellers a Travel
Pack when they are going away on business. It contains all that they need in terms of tickets, references and
“A large percentage of employees are techno-savvy but still prefer paper-based back-up for tickets”
costings to show them exactly what is covered by the company. Yes, it is in paper form, but it shows all the electronic references and barcodes that might be required should travellers need them. The original idea of the
travel pack was to try to take the hassle out of travel
for the traveller. It therefore contains all they might need during their journey and clear instructions on
where to be and when to be there. The traveller should not have to worry about making bookings or even paying for hotels. I am pleased to say that I have a number of happy travellers who are completely confident in what I provide for them. Could this level of service also be provided by a TMC? Therein lies the question as to whether companies actually need a dedicated travel manager? I have found that most travel managers, like me, are double or even treble hatted and therefore travel is just one part of a day's work. They are the key contact point for
all travel matters for both travellers and suppliers of travel services to the company. They are the organiser, the arranger and often the booker of the journey. The travel manager has often been the one that has negotiated and set up the deals with suppliers and should also be the guardian and enforcer of the company’s business travel policy. Additionally, under the all- important duty of care legislation, it is also to help keep track of those travelling. In my opinion, TMCs can do most of that, but not all. Consideration must be given to
those travellers that are not as comfortable with technology and may need additional (paper) support, as I have outlined above. For these reasons, I believe that the in-house travel manager is not necessarily a thing of the past. TMCs and HBAs offer a service which would normally be based around a specific model that suits them rather than the client. In my experience, one size does not fit all. TMCs and HBAs are profit-making organisations and therefore work in their own interest to make money. In contrast, the in-house travel manager is working for the interests of their employer, they know the culture of the business and the way the management work. They have a good understanding
of travel itself and how it works within their organisation but, more importantly, they know the travellers. I rest my case!
JARGON BUSTER ➔ ACRONYMS: sadly you just can't get away
from them in the dynamic world of business travel. So to help you out we've listed some of the most commonly used ones below, just so you don't get your Frequent Flyer Programmes confused with the Faculty of Family Planning.
ACFO Association of Car Fleet Operators ACTE
ADR average daily room rate APIS ATOC
BAPCO Association of Corporate Travel Executives
Advanced Passenger Information System Association of Train Operating Companies
British Association of Professional Conference Organisers
BAR best available rate BTA BTC
business travel agent business travel centre
CDW collision damage waiver CRM CRO CRS CSR
DDR daily delegate rate ETES end-to-end solution FFP
customer relationship management central reservation office central reservation system corporate social responsibility
frequent flyer programme
GDS global distribution system GTMC
HBA hotel booking agent HBAA IATA ITM KPI LRA MI
Guild of Travel Management Companies
Hotel Bookings Agents Association International Air Transport Association Institute of Travel & Meetings key performance indicators last room availability
management information
MIA Meetings Industry Association MPI
OTM online travel management PNR passenger name records RFP ROI SBT SLA
request for proposal return on investment self-booking tools
service level agreement
SME small and/or medium-sized business/es TEM travel and expense management TMC travel management company
Meetings Professionals International
8 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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