Tag Archives: BCD Travel

GBT, HRG Take Amadeus Deal To Avoid British Airways, Iberia Nov. 1 GDS Surcharge

There are three weeks to go before a surcharge takes effect on global distribution system bookings with British Airways and Iberia. Big travel management companies are revealing that they’re avoiding the fee on bookings through Amadeus thanks to the GDS company’s agreements with the airlines. Following a related Hogg Robinson Group announcement last week, American Express Global Business Travel… Read More »

TMCs Seek Rejiggered Hotel Revenue, Drawing ‘Shell Game’ Accusation

TMC-hotel revenue

Big travel management companies are beefing up their hotel programs. They say it’s a content play. Aggregating inventory, special prices and perks counteracts fragmentation. It gives their clients’ travelers less reason to stray from managed programs. That improves reporting and risk management. All good stuff. But, wait. Follow the money. First, a bit of history. U.S. airlines chipped… Read More »

In Defense Of Corporate Travel Policy

Corporate travel policy has taken a lot of grief lately. It’s too long, so nobody reads it. It’s not traveler-centric. It doesn’t incorporate “behavioral economics.” Its ability to control behavior is a “myth.” Some generalizations are less true than others, and corporate policy is often misunderstood. That doesn’t mean companies can stand pat. The business environment is always… Read More »

New Hotel Cancel Policies Not ‘Fine’ By Customers, But Greater Negotiated Value Offers Silver Lining

hotel cancel policies

The reception to some hotel chains’ new 48-hour cancellation rules has been “perfectly fine,” according to Hilton Worldwide CEO Christopher Nassetta. “Nobody likes incremental restrictions on the flexibility of reservations, but I think most customers understand that we’ve got a need to manage our inventory and avoid walking people,” said Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson. “As a consequence, the response… Read More »

Building On Packaging, Upside Seeks ‘Full-Service’ Status With Unmanaged Business Travelers

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 »

TMCs Advance Mobile Hotel Bookings, Services

It’s well known that lodging is a strategic driver for travel management companies. Mobile is a key vehicle. American Express Global Business Travel next month in the United Kingdom will add hotel booking and chat to its Amex GBT mobile app. The move furthers a hotel strategy that recently included the integration of Booking.com content, according to American… Read More »

Big Three TMCs On Evolution Of The Model, Airline Distribution, Airbnb, Concur, Synxis Breach

You generally will not see interviews published here, but an opportunity that came up last week made an exception worthwhile. What follows are excerpts of separate interviews with top executives at the three largest travel management companies. We spoke by phone with American Express Global Business Travel president Philippe Chérèque last Monday, Carlson Wagonlit Travel president and CEO… Read More »

Teleconference 10: One-On-One With BCD Travel President And CEO John Snyder

One-On-One With John Snyder July 13, 2017 Download it here. Gift it here. Grab the slides here. John Snyder spoke with us extensively about challenges in airline distribution. He also touched on BCD Travel’s efforts to grow access to hotel content, its relationship with Concur, how the TMC role will evolve, outsourcing, the TMC P&L, the Sabre SynXis data breach and more. Snyder even… Read More »

CWT Using Points, New Rate System To Capture More Hotel Bookings

Many travel management companies and tech firms are working to process more of their clients’ hotel bookings. Continuing its push, Carlson Wagonlit Travel is rolling out a simplified rate aggregation system and using loyalty points as incentives. During a Wednesday interview, CWT president of hotels Scott Brennan said some clients in Europe that use the KDS and Traveldoo… Read More »

Providers: Audit To Improve Hotel Sourcing Results

Companies that do not audit hotel rates and availability are leaving piles of cash on front desks, according to BCD Travel analysis of client data. Without standard rate audits, a firm spending about $20 million annually on hotels overpays them by $490,000, the travel management company found. The same client would save about $900,000 per year using both rate and availability audits. Extrapolating the findings, BCD… Read More »