Guest column
Key people in the business travel sector share their knowledge and views on issues facing the industry today
A TRAVEL BUYER’S FRIEND OR FOE?
Business Travel Direct managing director Julie Oliver says TMCs must support buyers when they become champions within their companies
A TRAVEL BUYER’S JOB has always had its inherent challenges. How to formulate a balanced travel policy that fits the business culture and meets the expectation of acceptable travel spend? Then how to encourage, measure or even demand its compliance? Over the last few years,
travel buyers’ roles have changed dramatically, moving from the periphery of a business to a fully integrated role, directly underpinning success and increasingly reporting directly into the main board. I attribute this to changed thinking within businesses, not least the understanding of the intrinsic benefit that well-managed travel brings in keeping businesses connected to customers and suppliers. Periods of low economic
confidence such as we are experiencing now naturally force boards to scrutinise costs more closely and question the reasons for, and the value of, business travel. Such decisions have longer-term consequences to top-line growth, retention and customer confidence. Many travel buyers have now
become the champions within their businesses, justifying budgets and, by implication, the need for business travel. They have to balance the needs of stakeholders looking for travel to deliver against growth and retention targets, and stakeholders who are dedicated to controlling costs and increasing margins. It’s not an enviable position and one where travel management
companies (TMCs) must step up to the challenge, appreciate their pressures and help deliver solutions. TMCs need to become
strategists and consultants across specialist areas like traveller security, duty-of- care and corporate social responsibility that increasingly come under the remit of the travel department. As I said earlier, the
travel department today is much more integrated within organisations. Human resources and travel work together on duty-of-care obligations especially regarding employee safety and security; and TMCs are instrumental in helping organisations draw up appropriate policies and assisting their implementation. Similarly, mobile technology
has raised issues around organisational data security and access, and what technology to make available
to business travellers. Be it iPads, smartphones or apps, TMCs help travel buyers make informed recommendations on what will benefit the booker, the traveller and the business. Increasingly at Business
Travel Direct, we work at a strategic level helping travel buyers demonstrate to stakeholders the real value of business travel. We show that ‘travel pays’ by illustrating its true ROI (return on investment) and how it adds to the bottom line. By working at this level
we enable corporates to identify and factor in the cost of travel as part of their sales, recruitment, training or promotion. It’s no longer about looking at travel spend as an aggregated operating cost; it’s more about intelligently attributing it to specific group, divisional or department objectives and initiatives that the business is undertaking. It takes an experienced
Periods of low economic confidence force boards to scrutinise costs and question the reasons for travel
Julie Oliver is managing director of independent TMC, Business Travel Direct, which is a member of Advantage Business Travel and WIN – the Worldwide Independent Travel Network. Oliver joined the company in 1994, becoming managing director in 2007. She also sits on the technology working party of the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC). She says she is passionate about the future of business travel and believes that TMCs have a vital role to play in partnering with travel buyers to formulate strategic travel policies.
TMC with a trusted partner relationship to deliver this extra level of service.
Using joined-up thinking,
we ensure the company ethos is fully integrated and represented in its travel policy. An organisation cannot say it puts its employees first without considering the implications of expecting travellers to drive or do business immediately after a long overnight flight. Our strategic approach
can highlight further potential savings or offer greater value within the programme. In our experience, many companies only consider the headline costs for air fares or hotel rooms when formulating their travel policy. By looking at the whole trip cost we frequently find that the headline figures are disguising additional costs elsewhere. So there is no point stipulating no-frills carriers if it results in expensive taxi rides from more remotely located airports. Similarly, policy may dictate booking flexible air fares for convenience, when a fixed fare would be much more cost effective, even taking into account occasional cancellation or amendment charges. So, TMCs: friend or foe? I think with the complexities that need to be managed and the expectations buyers are facing within their area of responsibility, it is safe to say the real judges will be the boards. We’ll be ‘friend’ if corporates’ objectives are underpinned by a safe, balanced, appropriate and managed travel attitude – and, if not, then definitely ‘foe’! ■
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