WORDS GREELEY KOCH
OPINION
TECHNOLOGY SPARKS IDEAS
Looking back on six years at ACTE, new technologies have provided choices that would have been unimaginable in 2012
L
IFE COMES AT US SO QUICKLY that we can forget what things used to be like. Without some major life or world event to mark the passage of time, it slips by. In March, I’ll be leaving ACTE, so I find myself thinking about all that’s occurred in the six years since I joined as executive director. It feels like 2012 was a simpler time. Brexit was hardly a thing. There were no immigration bans or airline computer bans to complicate business. But, of course, life was anything but simple – the world was cautiously coming out of a recession. Businesses were trying to adapt to a new reality without knowing exactly what that would be. With profits up, some parts of the business travel world were less focused on saving money and more interested in traveller satisfaction and efficiency. Companies approached the issue in different ways, at different speeds and with uneven results. Thanks to improved communications, however, best practices are emerging more quickly than
buyingbusinesstravel.com
would’ve been possible even a decade ago. But there is much work to do. As an industry, we are still trying to figure out the best way to measure/quantify a corporate travel programme focused on trip ROI and traveller productivity instead of just being about savings.
AT ACTE, WE
HAVE ALWAYS TRIED TO BE A CONDUIT FOR IDEAS, ADVOCACY, SHARING AND PLUGGING AWAY
As success metrics have changed, so have ACTE’s conferences. Recession-era shows brought together buyers and sellers on panels, with audience queries about new product offerings. Post-recession audiences instead want to know what will be done to help their companies and travellers. Suppliers are stepping up. In the old days, travellers were limited to one or two hotel chains. Hospitality companies have since merged and opened boutique brands, giving travellers more variety. Who could’ve imagined all the choice in ground transportation? Private drivers, taxicabs, shared rides, and ride-hailing apps. Airlines, too, offer different ways to access content but with various new fees. Changes like these equip our business travellers to make choices that work not only for their companies but also work for themselves. The way we at ACTE present information has changed, too – more webinars so you get the information you need online. Our conferences are shorter and punchier (the better to compete with your phone, social media and newsfeeds).
We recently hired a director of research to hone ideas that will work for you. Good ideas come from anywhere, so ACTE wants to be where you want us. We have expanded our international partnerships from Latin America to Australia over the past several years so the network is getting even bigger. Business travel becomes more important every year, and the global media have taken notice. ACTE has become the voice of global executive travel, addressing everything from the impact of immigration and computer bans to how business travel and supplier mergers affect a company’s bottom line. Eventually, the economy will
sour, and the conversation will change again. While pounds, pence and belt-tightening will become more important than is the case today, we’ll not return to a time when cost concerns dominate. There’s got to be a balance. As the economy tightens, it will be especially important to retain the best talent and to help them be as productive as possible. These past six years I’ve learned so much visiting with buyers and suppliers around the world, learning about your concerns. At ACTE, we have always tried to be a conduit for ideas, advocacy, sharing and plugging away. I know that will continue long after I’m gone. Though I’m leaving ACTE, I’ll
still be in business travel and look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you for your support.
Greeley Koch is executive director of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (
acte.org)
2019 MARCH/APRIL 131
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136
