Author Archives: Jay Campbell
Travel Leaders Group in July acquired Raleigh, N.C.-based Travel Management Partners. It’s another in a string of deals pushing TLG to the extremes of travel agency heft. Twenty-three year-old TMP employed about 135 people as of a year ago. According to The News & Observer of Raleigh, TMP in 2015 arranged more than $300 million in travel for about 40… Read More »
When Amway global sourcing manager Guy Langenburg attempted to gather data for global travel management consolidation, some local managers and suppliers hid it from him. No, really. They acted like children. It’s far from the first illustration of what corporate travel educators have been saying for years about globalization projects. You need to know your company. You need… Read More »
Airbnb’s continued buildout of corporate travel capabilities has awoken the sleepy serviced apartments sector. New investment capital supports startups for bookings, sourcing and property management. Traditional operators are creating their own distribution platforms. Design norms are shifting along with client expectations for something interesting. Useful for relocation, internships, project work, insurance services and emergencies, serviced apartments and variations… Read More »
Travel management sources said British Airways parent IAG should go back to the drawing board on recently discussed alternatives to its surcharge program, due to take effect Nov. 1. An IAG official offered no comment on news that the firm is in the market talking to travel management companies about an incentive program not unlike the one described… Read More »
Sabre’s new leadership is remaking the company. At the start of this month, they attributed a decision to lay off approximately 900 people to a desire to become faster and more efficient. They’re attacking overhead. They’re streamlining products in the division housing airline reservations and related systems. Sometimes stocks go up on news about layoffs. Not this time.… Read More »
When American Airlines announced its alternative distribution program, one of the connectivity options it endorsed was to use third-party aggregators. These would be companies certified by AA for processing offers and orders in accordance with the International Air Transport Association’s New Distribution Capability. At the industry level, IATA has certified six aggregators for that. They include two that achieved… Read More »
After beating the packaging drum for more than a year, Jay Walker’s Upside Travel is now also offering flights and hotels individually. It added Uber as a packaging option and will soon announce new support services. TMC relationships have not advanced, but Walker reiterated during a Thursday interview that they’re part of the plan. Upside publicized the new… Read More »
Return on investment for particular business trips is elusive. Amadeus is hoping to address that with new integration between its cytric booking tool and Salesforce. Amadeus expects cytric to be available on the Salesforce AppExchange by early fourth quarter, meaning clients can install its booking capabilities into the Salesforce mobile app. The integration will attach Salesforce CRM’s “opportunities”… Read More »
Hi-Mark Software made its mark more than a decade ago, and Kevin Austin sold it to TRX in 2007. Concur now is shutting down what remains of Austin’s technology, and he’s back with something new. His Big Data Experts has created a platform for building mobile apps, going to market as ONEtechnology. They’re not just any mobile apps.… Read More »
Annual growth percentages for the expense management market remain in the high single digits, according to recent reports from IDC and Technavio. That’s a big reason why the number of software providers, already in the dozens, keeps growing. While this may not concern large enterprise providers like Concur, Chrome River or Coupa, on the smaller end, the choices… Read More »