Corporate travel professionals yearn for an omnichannel solution in booking and servicing, sometimes pointing to retail as a guide. “Buyers want it; sellers need it,” according to Harvard Business School professor Doug Chung, McKinsey & Company partners Isabel Huber and Jean-Charles Devignes, and McKinsey associate partner Tom Clauwaert. “It’s not trivial, but it’s not rocket…
It’s a chicken-and-egg scenario as corporate travel management companies face hard decisions on staffing. When clients resume traveling, they need reliable, expert service more than ever. But with demand in doubt, how proactive can TMCs be in bringing back their people and recruiting more? It’s a question that begets more. How have agent roles been…
After seven years with Egencia, $2.3 billion U.K.-based multinational events and research company Informa is targeting February to implement TripActions for workers in 28 countries. After the well-capitalized new entrant caught the eye of Informa’s travel manager of nearly 10 years, Melissa Willock, it bested four competitors in a roughly four-month bake-off involving six divisions…
Among the materials made public last week by American Express Global Business Travel was a chart showing how the Net Promoter Score for Egencia and Amex GBT exceeded those of some key rivals, in some cases by quite a bit. GBT didn’t conduct the study; McKinsey & Co. ran it in July and August for…
Air Canada 18 years ago debuted fare families, a response to low-cost competition that set off a revolution in airline pricing. The company’s decision shortly thereafter to make some fares exclusive to its direct channels augured similar moves more than a decade later by big carriers in Europe and elsewhere. Is Montréal changing the game…
The Global Business Travel Association on Wednesday welcomed back its Media Day event at the start of the annual convention. More series of presentations than press conference, the event requires presenters — companies that sponsor or exhibit at the convention and pay extra to be involved — to agree to withhold their announcements until the…
Some companies’ biggest travel management headaches these days are coming from one of the smaller-spend categories — ground transportation, particularly car rental. Renters face tight availability, poor vehicle condition and rising rates. Avis Budget Group and Hertz reported record earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30. They cited strengthening demand, cost reductions realized during the…
