Business Travel Executive, Dec 2020/Jan 2021

CS COVER STORY requirements and guidance so they have one less thing to worry about BCD Travels COVID 19 response focuses on three key areas Bailey says Real time information traveler care and solutions and support On the air and hotel supplier front clients are looking for flexibility Bailey says Customers are expecting longer grace periods to make travel changes without penalties and a quicker turnaround in receiving refunds where applicable Since the pandemic began Brady notes CTM has seen the level of advisory support it offers its clients increase exponentially in the new normal CTM is no stranger to acquisition and is always looking for opportunities that are the right fit and bring value to its stakeholders she explains Most recently we acquired Travel and Transport in October For us we knew that the fit was right the time was right and the end user benefits were right to make this acquisition Brady says We were lucky to come through COVID 19 debt free and with a strong balance sheet During the COVID 19 slowdown we can move quickly to integrate our two companies to leverage increased buying power and the best aspects that each of us brings to the combined business For TMCs in general Brady does predict there will be further consolidation much of it due to the fact that revenue streams have dried up since the crisis began The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of technology Brady says CTM had already made a significant investment in technology pre COVID such as our own online booking tool Lightning and our global portal which is a great way to get information in our traveling publics hands Andrew W Menkes founder and CEO of Partnership Travel Consulting LLC notes theres been a dramatic contraction in terms of TMC activity with a fair amount of activity on the TMC side trying to renegotiate their agreements Its far from business as usual he says Fewer TMCs means less competition but it also means it makes room for new competitors Menkes notes theres a lot of discussion though not a lot of action yet on the subscription model which is a tough sell trying to make it relevant to the frequent traveler as well as the non employee Hansini Sharma head of corporate travel for Acquis Consulting Group notes consolidation of any type in a travel program poses its own unique challenges but TMC consolidation is generally a bit more complicated because of agent configurations pricing structures reporting solutions and integration capabilities just to name a few Firms and TMCs alike are going to need to be flexible through this transition and will need to make concessions as the TMCs work towards their new way of operations she says I would urge clients to prioritize the most important aspects of their existing TMC relationships whether it be the pricing structure or agent support level or something else in consolidation conversations Moreover she says TMCs are really under pressure and the infrastructure that historically supported their ability to provide all ranges of services doesnt exist now and may never come back According to Hartwell all businesses have suffered financially during the lockdowns resulting in new financial models being developed now and others emerging in the future In any case he adds the transaction fee model has not worked well in these conditions We have seen much consolidation over the past couple of years and I think that this will continue he says It is a very difficult period for our industry However consolidation needs buyers and sellers and currently conditions are a good time to buy but maybe not so good if you are a seller Jeffrey Berk chief executive officer of Tripkicks notes 2020 has forced the issue of quantifying value for many corporate TMC relationships in some cases they have led to closer relationships and in others more distant Without revenue generating transactions its more difficult for TMCs to maintain resources and support across all their clients he says Some companies have opted to pay for those services directly which may lead to a closer relationship between the TMC and corporate client Corporates without the ability to pay directly may see a decrease 32 Business Travel Executive askBTE com December 2020 January 2021 Some buyers and suppliers will not find common ground so look for a significant amount of TMC RFPs to result