Business Travel Executive, October/November 2020

27 Business Travel Executive askBTE com October November 2020 Here are three things you can do to start thinking differently about your current 1 travel programs Assess your current program and get unstuck By getting your program fully assessed by a 2 third party you might spot opportunities that were not available previously that can help you gain full control especially if your compliance levels have hit a ceiling and now you are thinking about using a post COVID mandate to force your travelers back into the box You should consider a different strategy to gain 100 percent compliance to your program Today its possible to achieve total oversight by using a multi channel approach whether you are booking with a TMC OBT or directly with a supplier Travel leaders can get all travel data link to their duty of care provider and achieve savings regardless of the booking channel Why not give your travelers multiple booking options as long as it supports your goals Revise your hotel sourcing strategy Who knows what rates are going to do over the next 24 months We will see hotel rates fluctuate dramatically during the recovery from COVID You should focus on building a smarter and more strategic hotel program that works for your companys goals and culture and one that can stand up against whatever the business climate may throw at us in the future Because your volumes may not get back to 2019 levels for a few years its not solely about negotiating static rates anymore but rather it is about using a hybrid approach that uses a combination of static rates and dynamic discounts to achieve your goals The key is to maximize your opportunity at the time of the 3 booking Embrace direct supplier bookings because they are safer and compliant now Booking directly with suppliers has been shunned in corporate travel programs because when transactions circumvented the TMC they were disconnected from the companys travel program All of that has now changed given the current technology available to us today It is now possible to have direct bookings link to your corporate contracts duty of care provider and to the rest of your data As an example hotel bookings continue to be an issue as direct bookings are on the rise in most programs in some as high as 40 percent of hotel transactions are being booked directly Instead of putting those transactions back into the box you can use that as a first step to your next iteration toward a more modern travel program A hybrid approach allows you to create an environment for your travelers that gives them options without sacrificing control By utilizing this approach it will be possible to get your negotiated rates and discount 100 percent of the time and get reporting from the transaction at the point of sale Additionally you may create incremental savings opportunities by enabling direct bookings Suppliers enjoy substantially lower cost distribution costs sometimes up to 25 percent when travelers book directly This can allow you to negotiate greater savings while creating unique benefits for your company and also for your travelers You can also make the booking process more efficient and easier for your travelers Since supplier apps and booking sites are typically where the travelers start their transactions by checking rates it is also the place where they end their bookings to make sure their upgrades are being processed The time savings for travelers can be significant By using the tools available today from technology providers all transactions can be successfully captured routed to the designated duty of care supplier and audited for rate and policy compliance Todays climate is different than anything we have seen before with traveler safety at the forefront Focusing on negotiating smarter supplier deals flattening processes to create flexibility and keeping the safety of our travelers paramount ensures that corporate travel programs will evolve at a faster pace with more efficiency for corporations their travelers and their suppliers You just need to be willing to break out of that box n Susan Lichtenstein is the Managing Partner of DigiTravel Consulting which is dedicated to simplifying T E programs to enable digital and direct supplier connections between corporations and travel suppliers Susan is also the Founder of TAMS Travel and Meetings Standards Community Susan has expertise in business leadership T E procurement strategy and planning and process optimization She is widely known as both a disruptor and an innovator Susan is a recipient of multiple awards recognizing her career achievements and contributions including induction into The BTN Group Hall of Fame in 2017 Jay Roseman is the Managing Partner of DigiTravel Consulting and is an experienced executive in the business travel and corporate meetings industries He has held senior level positions at American Express and was one of the original strategic meetings management pioneers helping many of the Fortune 100 connect meeting spend with other highly managed programs