Service

Much of the rationale for a managed travel program is providing appropriate and satisfactory service to corporate travelers. That means working with airlines, hotels, ground transport firms, travel management companies, tech providers and others to optimize each step of a trip, from booking and planning through to post-trip reports and surveys.

Coverage areas include:
• Travel agents, both real and virtual
• Employee engagement
Mobile technologies for travelers
• Variability in hotel services
Personalizing travel
Visa processing travel

Op Ed: CWT’s Nick Vournakis On How It’s Time For TMCs ‘To Step Up And Improve’

Travel manager Brad Seitz touched a nerve in his June 22 Op Ed cautioning travel suppliers not to blame corporate clients for failing to precisely project when and to what degree booking volumes would recover. In his response below, CWT chief customer officer Nick Vournakis doesn’t make excuses for insufficient TMC service. He knows providers…

Op Ed: Brad Seitz On The Travel Implosion Right Before Our Eyes

Everyone is swamped and emotions are running high in travel. Industry veteran Brad Seitz, now head of travel, facilities and sustainability for workforce management firm Pro Unlimited, is not alone in accusing travel suppliers, particularly travel management companies, of playing a blame game in laying responsibility for some service woes at the feet of their…

Offshore Providers Also Face Staffing Issues As Demand Bounces Back 

Holes in staff coverage are causing a corporate travel meltdown. For business process outsourcing firms, this may represent an opportunity even though they are not immune to many of the same issues. EXL Services, a $1.1 billion New York-based firm that supports an undisclosed portion of American Express Global Business Travel’s operation, dealt with the…

Longtime TMC Leader Fragale Joins TakeTwo Travel Solutions As North America President

TakeTwo Travel Solutions, the new international travel management company founded by former Corporate Travel Management exec Chris Thelen, hired veteran TMC leader Patrick Fragale as president of the North America region. Fragale’s résumé includes three years as an executive vice president at Valerie Wilson Travel (now part of Frosch), two years as president of Protravel…

Hotel Service Is Still Below Par, But Execs Say It’s Improving

The hospitality industry’s labor issues make it hard to provide the services many corporate travelers expect. According to hotel company execs, service levels are recovering but at different paces depending on location. Travel buyers understand the staffing dilemmas facing many properties and try to ensure travelers know what they’ll encounter. Beyond the immediate term, some…

Business Travel Is Back But Staffing, Service And Satisfaction Are Stressed

Business travel is back but management infrastructure is not, creating a stressed-out industry. For now, corporate travel professionals are doing whatever they can that’s within their control. That includes managing expectations among the traveling population and with senior execs, retraining employees on policies and procedures, updating profiles and preaching patience. A little finger-pointing is going…

CWT Enlists Analytics Startup To Predict Corporate Travel Demand

Corporate travel is finally showing signs of a sustained recovery, but its susceptibility to exogenous shocks has never been more apparent. Will it return to the levels of 2019, and if so, when? That’s anyone’s guess. CWT wants its answers to be more informed and, in February, began a three-month pilot with a startup analytics…

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