TRAVEL BOOKERS
to,” points out Judith Heinrich, managing director at independent business travel consultants Travelocity. But it also brings with it challenges for travel managers and buyers. After all, busy PAs and EAs have a long list of responsibilities, which does not necessarily include booking travel along with the process of finding the cheapest flight, negotiating refunds or reissues, and liaising with travellers when journeys go wrong. It can be “very complex”, Heinrich says. “They’re given access to the online booking tool but they don’t understand the travel policy,” she adds. “Some personal assistants are very good, but for the majority their job is being a PA and not a travel agent.” “This is exactly the issue,” agrees Rebecca Deadman, commercial director at Blue Cube Travel. “Travel may seem straightforward, but there are many potential pit- falls. [For instance] bookers with limited personal travel experience can be drawn to a low fare, business class seat on a low-cost carrier and believe they are doing the company a good turn. However, if the booker has never experienced a flight in a premium cabin, they would not know the difference between the level of service on low- cost versus a legacy carrier. We have heard of cases where PAs have been fired for making such a mistake.” Inexperience can often lead to leakage, says Simone
Buckley, chief executive of Fello, as travel bookers go off grid, failing to book through centralised booking systems put in place. “That causes two lots of problems. One, data of what’s being spent on hotels, for example, isn’t all in one place, and it also means if it’s booked out of channels there’s no record of where they’re staying.”
SECURITY CONCERNS In other words, if something goes wrong it can throw up serious security concerns. Particularly where the lines of responsibility or duty-of-care between the travel booker, travel manager and TMC get blurry. “You know those travellers are in that part of the world but you don’t know specifically where they are because it wasn’t booked through us,” adds Buckley. “The travel manager is often held responsible for that.” The critical importance of keeping tabs on business travellers was brought very close to home for Buckley recently when a business traveller they’d worked with regularly was caught up and killed in the Nairobi attack on a hotel and office. “It was devastating. Every incident flags up something you just didn’t think of and, unfortunately, it’s happening more and more frequently.” Booking outside of policy can also arise from PAs or EAs carrying out requests from senior staff, be it for a first class seat or a later flight home to combine a business trip with a holiday. “A PA under pressure from their boss won’t be strong enough to say something shouldn’t be booked outside of policy,” says Heinrich. “The traveller isn’t interested as they’re not paying for it, the company is, and so the PA will do what their boss tells them.” Understandable perhaps, but problematic for travel managers. So, what are some of the solutions available to smooth out the process? The first and probably most important remedy is to provide proper training on the
buyingbusinesstravel.com
INDEPENDENT VIEW:
Michelle Taft, managing director at Aspensia, on how TMCs can help
“With travel being so easy to purchase online, often bookers will do their own research outside of the approved booking channels. “To minimise this, ensure your TMC is providing you with a wide range of competitive content and educate bookers and travellers on the value and
importance of booking through the TMC – they need to understand what’s in it for them. “Bookers are usually juggling travel booking with a whole
host of other responsibilities and therefore expect prompt and efficient service from their TMCs. “Giving stakeholders a voice throughout the deci-
sion-making process will help get their buy-in to support the contract [with a TMC]. Once the contract goes live, good communication is essential, both in terms of educating bookers and travellers, but also being open to feedback.”
SOME PERSONAL ASSISTANTS ARE VERY GOOD, BUT FOR THE MAJORITY THEIR JOB IS BEING A PA AND NOT A TRAVEL AGENT
2019
MARCH/APRIL
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