Our ninth podcast episode features a discussion recorded this month with regulars Evan Konwiser of American Express Global Business Travel and Miriam Moscovici from BCD Travel. We spoke with them about the basics of travel management, new technology like virtual reality, risk management, open booking, concerns about online booking tools, Uber, what travel managers are missing and productivity tips.
[UPDATE, April 1, 6:29 p.m. EDT: Delta now says that while “end-on-end combinability of non-refundable fares has been restricted,” booking within one passenger name record “multiple one-way tickets for the purpose of constructing legitimate circle trips” is again possible. “You can book any one-way ticket we offer for sale, but we do not recommend using multiple one-way tickets to create…
It is easy to understand the importance of traveler feedback. Obtaining it is harder. As usual, mobile technology offers promise. A few new tech companies provide the means to collect timely and relevant traveler input, on the fly. Some travel management companies are looking to do the same. Armed with meaningful feedback, travel managers can address service deficiencies and misconceptions,…
A Lufthansa executive this month reportedly named American Express Global Business Travel and BCD Travel as potential partners for the airline’s direct-booking initiative. However, the travel management companies don’t sound interested. According to an Amex executive, Lufthansa’s proposed alternative would end up costing more than the airline’s 16 euro surcharge for traditional distribution. A BCD Travel spokesperson said the company doesn’t…
Hilton Worldwide declined to comment, but several sources said it’s planning to reduce agency commissions on its new HHonors rates. Those are the discounted rates that Hilton revealed in February as part of its “Stop Clicking Around” marketing campaign, designed to compete with online travel agencies. Other travel agencies at first worried they also would not have access to those…
[UPDATE, May 9, 2017: OnyxCenterSource acquired fellow hotel commission recovery specialist eCommission Solutions. Onyx CEO Mark Dubrow said the deal expands his company’s client base and provides pre-existing ECS clients “an expanded hotel network and additional support services around the world.” Dubrow added that Onyx is determining how the ECS “big data platform” may help build out business intelligence services….
It’s a tricky time for the world’s largest corporate card provider. American Express’ recent financial performance is “disappointing,” said chairman and CEO Kenneth Chenault. An antitrust suit with potentially wide and expensive implications still is pending. Amex recently lost a couple big consumer co-branding partnerships. Average fees charged to merchants are dropping, and will keep doing so as the company…
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