In corporate travel, sourcing is all about negotiating deals with airlines, hotels, car rental companies and other suppliers. Of course, organizations want to get the best value, but travel procurement is about more than price. It’s also about using data to monitor performance on both sides, working with intermediaries, building deeper relationships and exploring new technologies that improve processes.
Travel demand remains strong but there are some signs of a cool-off in corporate travel. Nevertheless, buyers should not expect the sting to come out of travel prices anytime soon as supply and demand remain out of whack. According to American Express Company, after domestic U.S. consumer travel surpassed its pre-pandemic level in the first…
One Covid silver lining is the chance for travel management pros to rethink strategies, improve cross-department collaboration and focus on bigger-picture topics like sustainability and duty of care. Combining transient travel and meetings can help with all that. More companies are moving in this direction, according to sources. They cited as motivations financial and people…
The picture may be getting clearer, but the pandemic temporarily made it impossible for corporate travel buyers to predict where and when company employees would be traveling — much less staying, eating or meeting. Shedding light on this is becoming one of the more appreciated benefits of a U.K.-based tech firm that set out in…
To engender loyalty, improve client performance and ensure that deals with corporate accounts generate incremental value, airlines need better data and new thinking on tailored discounts and service add-ons, according to McKinsey. As it is, some airlines “struggle to quantify” the impact of individual client relationships on route profitability, a McKinsey spokesperson wrote by email…
Clients told Cvent its transient sourcing products were “adequate,” but the company is shooting higher. As business travel pros begin thinking about 2023 rate negotiations, the company on Tuesday told buyers and suppliers it would update components of its request for proposals technology for this summer. Reducing custom questions and back-and-forth on standard ones are…
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…
[CLARIFICATIONS, May 18: Adding details for this article, a spokesperson indicated that Coupa already “prescribes” travel sourcing opportunities. What’s yet to come is the automatic creation of sourcing events: “Today, our Travel Insights will recommend sourcing opportunities with a supplier. What the team is envisioning for the future is where silos are removed between the…
End of content
End of content
