Business Travel Executive, June 2019

THE WORD FROM THE THINK TANK 36Business Travel Executive JUNE 2019 In each issue of Business Travel Executive the members of our Buyer Think Tank offer their individual thoughts on whats hot whats cool and whats coming next in managed travel The Think Tank is a team of nine veteran travel managers from programs that run the gamut in size and complexity but each member contributes a unique viewpoint Travel Buyers POV brings fresh GLORIA A GONZALEZ Director of Travel and Meeting Services Freeman Hotel Compliance Isnt Easy Hotel rate compliance seems to be the bane of every travel buyers existence It is hard to monitor on a near real time basis and often we dont know things are wrong until its too late to do anything about it More frequent and real time rate audits seem to be the only way to catch issues before you have overspent Most travelers take for granted that the rates in the OBTs are accurate and why shouldnt they I am excited for the day when blockchain and smart contracts are in place and things are validated and only booked within those contracted rates Jennifer Steinke And Its Not Getting Easier Hotel compliance is a moving target At NetApp we think were doing well to get compliance of 55 60 percent However the most vocal complaints that I get from NetApp travelers is always about the hotel program How many times have I heard I can get it cheaper directly from the hotel Hotels both chain and independent expect corporations to meet production commitments but undermine those same corporate agreements by direct marketing to travelers Just as with airlines yield management has inserted itself into the daily management of hotel revenue Changing rates and promotion of dynamic pricing are undermining the ability of travel managers to fulfill corporate agreement goals Maybe thats not a bad thing in light of a changing technology environment and new distribution processes It all means JENNIFER STEINKE VP Global Travel Management WHoldings CHERYL BENJAMIN Travel Services Manager Dart Container Corporation CHRIS BROCKMAN Manager Travel Events and Marketing TriNet CORPORATE MEMBERS Travel Buyers POV perspectives and ideas to inspire innovation and thought leadership in the corporate travel industry Hotels constitute a huge part of most travel programs so negotiating the right hotel program is a major task for travel buyers However thats only the beginning As our Think Tank members note in this months Point of View keeping hotel rates in line is a never ending story