CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF A DIFFERENT KIND


TBTC 2010 wasn’t all hard work and no play. An early arrivals reception – sponsored by Accor Hotels – kicked off the event for those delegates and suppliers arriving on the Sunday evening, while a drinks reception, dinner and party was held on the first night, sponsored by Carlson Wagonlit Travel. British Airways’ Keith Chuter as DJ got the whole place jumping and there were quite a few bleary eyes the next morning...


WORKSHOPS TBTC 2010 ran six workshops on the second day of the event, when delegates could get at-table advice from experts in their field and discuss the issues they face with their peers. In the workshop exploring RFPs, Kevin King, director of Leslie Edward Consultancy, summed up the extent of the problem with his opening remarks: “Why write something in ten words when you can do it in 1,000? That’s RFPs really.” He outlined a checklist to justify the exercise, kicking off with the rationale for doing so, matching supplier to buyer, asking the right questions to get the right answers, giving clear instructions and sufficient time to reply. For suppliers he suggested they think carefully about whether they wanted the business due to the costs associated with responding. Delegate feedback suggested undergoing an internal RFI before gong out to tender, staging a pre-briefing session with all candidates to share objectives, for buyers to give a clear indication of volumes, to ensure suppliers responded in the format requested, that a four week deadline was realistic, to remind candidates to use spellcheck tools, and for buyers to enclose a sample completed form as guidance. The corporate manslaughter update once again proved popular, with this tricky legal issue dealt with deftly by Simon McMenemy, partner in


employment law firm Boodle Hatfield. The legislation was brought in in 2007 as a new offence for prosecuting companies for gross failure throughout the organisation in the management of health and safety with fatal consequences. Travel managers should ensure they have a paper trail of checks to prove they did all they could to protect that individual. A judge will look at whether there was a breach of the employers’ duty of care, whether best practice prevailed, whether the loss, harm or damage was foreseeable, or whether the employee knowingly consented to the loss, harm or damage. ”Employees expect to be protected from


risk but if they’re culpable then damages can be reduced,” said McMenemy. “You must have policies and procedures in place, particularly with grey fleet outlining that the car has to be licensed and MOTd. If there’s a death and the employee hasn’t followed procedure then you’re off the hook.” In the workshop


“Why write something in ten words when you can do it in 1,000? That’s RFPs for you”


Kevin King, director of Leslie Edward Consultancy


pitching TMCs against HBAs, Rebecca Jackson, category specialist in travel for the buyingTeam discussed choosing the right type of agent for your company’s needs. She outlined the scale and size of TMCs and that 63 per cent of transactions are still air. She praised HBAs for cheaper bill back rates and for being a true


specialist, but pointed out that a secondary supplier may be needed. Jackson concluded that there was room for both models and made a plea for greater collaboration between HBAs and TMCs in order to achieve one set of MI. In the workshop dealing with traveller


THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE I 17


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