THE CALENDAR


FEATURING conferences and exhibitions in the UK and further afi eld, we list the not-to-be- missed events of the business travel industry coming up in the months ahead.


ITM UPDATE


SIMONE BUCKLEY Chief executive, Institute of Travel & Meetings (ITM)


Those little extras... C


ost is always a focus in a managed travel programme.


MARCH 19TH-21ST International Confex ExCel, London www.international-confex.com


MARCH 21ST TBTM Master Class: Rail Travel Houndsditch, London www.thebusinesstravelmag.com


APRIL 16-18TH ITM Conference Beaumont House Hotel, Berkshire www.itm.org.uk


APRIL 21ST-23RD ACTE Global Conference New York Marriott Marquis, NYC www.acte.org


APRIL 26-28TH GTMC Conference Hotel Arts, Barcelona www.gtmc.org


MAY 8TH TBTM Master Class: Meetings Houndsditch, London www.thebusinesstravelmag.com


MAY 24TH The People Awards Park Plaza Westminster Bridge www.thepeopleawards.co.uk


JUNE 4-5TH The Business Travel Conference Novotel London West, London www.thebusinesstravelconference.com


JUNE 21ST TBTM Football Masters Beckenham www.thebusinesstravelmag.com


JULY 8TH TBTM Golf Masters Mannings Heath, West Sussex www.thebusinesstravelmag.com


While a corporate is looking at their travel management company's fees, they may have taken their eye off the ball when it comes to looking at the actual cost of a flight, and whether the TMC is always charging the true published fare available or whether actually the 'ticket price' includes a margin for the TMC. I wasn’t surprised recently upon hearing that a number of RFPs are out in the market place asking for fare quotes as part of the bid process. It is a good thing that a TMC’s ability to offer the lowest ticket price is again being considered as part of the decision making process. However, providing a list of 200 itineraries and giving the TMC


not add any 'mark up' to the published airfares: 1. Ensure the TMC gives an air


fare guarantee in the contract (just like the John Lewis “never knowingly undersold”). 2. Always audit the TMC


regularly but without warning. Call and ask for a fare quote and double check it at the same time (look up the same flights on the airline's website at the same time the TMC is looking at the GDS). 3. Use an audit company such


as Topaz to audit fares. 4. Use a consultant that is


experienced in the travel sector; the consultancy firm I refer to above are generalists not specialists. 5. Make sure there is clarity in the RFP and contract with the TMC about commissions and


"Marking up net fares is common practice and enables the TMC to negotiate great fares that deliver savings. I'd recommend some transparency and understanding between the corporate and TMC in this area"


three weeks to prepare their 'quotes' for each itinerary is a complete waste of time. Air fares change by the minute so the results will depend on the time that the fare quotes are completed, the dates that are used, the rules that are applied etc. If a TMC is in the practice of adding a little extra to a ticket price they won’t do it during a fare quote exercise where they know they are being compared to their competitors and possibly to the airlines directly. This is a time consuming and


View previous event picture galleries at www.thebusinesstravelmag.com


THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE


completely fruitless exercise which will NOT prove whether the TMC can or will offer the lowest fare available. But there are a number of things a corporate can do to make sure that the TMC always offers the best air fare and does


mark ups being passed back or used to offset the transaction fee. Marking up net fares is a


common practice and enables the TMC to negotiate great fares that deliver savings. I would recommend some transparency and understanding between the corporate and the travel man- agement company in this area. Marking up published fares is unethical if it is not a practice that the corporate is aware of or indeed has agreed to*. If you want to learn more about this then please join us at the ITM Workshop on March 8th: The Secrets to Successfully Sourcing TMC and Travel Technology. For more information see www.itm.org.uk


* See pages 22-23 for more on this hot topic.


THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 47


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