Similar to the traditional soft dollars made available for consulting support and the like, travel management company “tech credits” help clients adopt new technologies, customize products and services, and connect with third-party providers. They let TMCs tailor proposals, compete without offering significant rebates and strengthen client ties. Industry consultants questioned how transparently TMCs establish and…
As American Airlines tries to rebuild its sales bridges and considers various policies related to corporate and loyalty programs, the airline asked buyers to teach it about the corporate market. Several travel managers this month said AA sent them surveys asking about their travel policies, relationships with travel management companies and booking tool providers, priorities…
The primary choices for a travel management company servicing model have been the same for decades. The set of players providing the service has changed through M&A among existing providers and the emergence of new ones while improving technology allows for different flavors like virtual and hybrid-working agents. The most significant change affecting customer decisions…
Two pillars of American Airlines’ Fall 2022 to Spring 2024 sales strategy were that it needed corporate travel volume less than before and that when corporates got discounts, they often failed to deliver the commensurate market share. The carrier found the first to be false. On the second, it will be hard-pressed to repair itself…
Travel management is always all about data, but what does it say? Benchmarks can provide many answers, putting a program’s effectiveness into context, but obtaining good ones and using them effectively may be harder than it seems. The Company Dime asked more than a dozen travel managers and industry consultants to discuss the best practices….
AmTrav CEO Jeff Klee caused a stir with a Jan. 29 column in which he relayed an anecdote about a customer of a large travel management company hearing from a travel advisor that their “booking tool withholds some flight options on purpose in order to drive more revenue from phone calls.” Reactions from multiple executive-level…
Consulting services for corporate travel program management are popping up everywhere. Even suppliers like Delta Air Lines and Mastercard are ready to help. Incumbents include special divisions of travel management companies, individuals, boutique firms and some of the world’s largest consultancies. How does an organization choose? Primarily, it’s about how well the consultant’s subject matter…
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