Business Travel Executive, October 2017

16Business Travel Executive OCTOBER 2017 SPECIAL REPORT Meetings on a Roll portation I think we know how to better manage a more shared service though a traditional provider For example putting on an SUV rather than a ten passenger van can make the experience a little more intimate adding more of a cachet Were being a bit more clever with the data we receive to make sure we put on appropriate types of transportation she says Another vehicle reduction strategy Instead of using singular A to B passenger pickup Butler suggests employing more of a loop service hitting all the airports terminals in one fell loop This way drivers arent sitting around with their engines on However its important to note that pointto point pick ups for VIPs meeting speakers and certain company executives may be a must not just for ego salving purposes but for security purposes as well In this case cost savings take a back seat to executive privilege Butler believes the key to making all of the above happen smoothly is good data data widely shared and virtually transparent Capturing the Big Picture Even as good IT facilitates what type of vehicle greets each group or individual attending an event Deem has teamed up with Lyft to better bring the bigger picture into focus Under provisions of the deal IT provider Deem would integrate Lyft into our booking channels says Deem president and CEO John F Rizzo Instead of using or connecting multiple applications we want to make it easier for travelers to reserve a Lyft ride right along with their flight and hotel information in one simple seamless process Cutting hassle is the aim of Busters new Pro Planner a dedicated online platform where corporate and event planners can manage all their group transportation needs coach buses mini buses Sprinter vans limos SUVs luxury and school buses All of this management takes place on one virtual page In a prepared release Buster CEO Harald Kruse says Ground transportation is a major part of most events and it can be extremely time consuming for an event planner He claims Pro Planner is the first online resource that lays it all out planning scheduling shopping booking and payment and puts them all in one place to be saved retrieved and managed Last year in these pages we touched on Pow Wow Smart and how its IT initiatives were smoothing out ground transport for meetings and events It would do well to revisit GoldSprings Iwamoto says heretofore the mechanics of manifest change has been largely manual Pow Wow Smart he says infuses technology and efficiency to what so far is a very manual arena On its website Pow Wow Smart claims to improve efficiency by 60 80 percent save 30 percent on transportation costs and ensure your data is valid and accurate The company says the IT product reduces the time and effort required to create a budget submit a proposal determine vehicle needs make and modify reservations and provide meeting analysis and reporting Helping all players in the travel chain work better leaner and more efficiently is certainly a value add There is technology out there that mimics the shared economy technology acting as a demand aggregator Its better able to efficiently lay out the best cost options Theres a potential pitfall however believes Kevin Iwamoto When you start to do that you lose an element of control The concern in this particular space because youre dealing with executives VIPs and speakers is the level of assurance This is where the driver vetting is very critical Its got to be built into the sourcing criteria Thats where the beleaguered corporate travel manager bound by cost contraints but equally motivated by concerns for safety and security can step in and reassert some semblance of control What it really boils down to is the most disastrous part of planning an event is the ground transportation piece asserts Seth Marcus Which is why most often this is a decentralized portion of the meeting process Done right ground transportation recedes into the background and the event stands out as the shining star But if it goes wrong You can have a great program that youve been planning for six months The food can be wonderful The content can be great But what people dont understand is that ground transportation is the last touchpoint of every single attendee Get ground right and you have a better chance of leaving them smiling BTE You cant compete in the ground transport space without an applicable app