ABC Global Services in the coming months plans to use a new GDS rate code for special hotel offers. This type of promotional activity isn’t unique among travel agency consortia, but ABC expects its size and reach to result in some differentiation. According to ABC CEO Eric Altschul, traditional promotional rate programs usually require chains…
People disagree on how much and when, but blockchain seems destined to improve how hotels track and pay commissions to travel management companies. This always has been a gnarly process, so many will welcome the change. Clearing up mismatched data, resorting to dunning, failing to trust … it’s so bad, the industry accepts “commission recovery”…
Total commissions paid to travel agencies by U.S. airlines in 2017 reversed a 20-year trend and jumped 15 percent year over year, according to U.S. government data. The data reflect a fight for market share as the Big Three enjoy strong demand and healthy balance sheets. On domestic U.S. tickets, commission dollar volume in 2017 rose for…
Popularized by Tripbam and Yapta, hotel reshopping offers savings as rates fluctuate after initial bookings. But who controls exactly what gets reshopped and rebooked? Whose best interests are served? Microsoft’s recently released corporate travel manifesto raised these and more questions. The document alluded to conflicts of interest when travel management companies actively bias toward hoteliers in…
Collecting hotel commissions always has been arduous. Helping agencies and corporations with it is the reason companies like Onyx CenterSource and CTS Systems exist. For their clients, hotel compensation strategies that reallocate monies from the traditional commission bucket to so-called marketing fees exacerbate the challenge. The apparent step-up in such activity has led to more bemoaning…
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….
Air Canada reduced travel agency compensation on certain fares, effective April 1. The change followed increases in the airline’s sales and distribution costs as a percentage of passenger revenue in each of the past three years. A spokesperson confirmed that the carrier reduced commissions paid on some international airfare types, including interline and business-class fares….
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